To Get Me To You
by DrKCooper
Summary: A multi-chapter piece that goes back to the beginning—that is, the beginning of the infamous friendship of Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles. Eventual Rizzles.
1. To Get Me To You

_Disclaimer: All recognizable _Rizzoli & Isles_ characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to Tess Gerritsen. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fanfiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended._

Author's Note: I have often been told that I don't write nearly enough multi-chapter fics. I am drawn to one-shots, particularly as they work so well for post-ep pieces and missing scenes. However, I have been toying for some time with the idea of committing myself to a longer piece that goes back to the beginning—that is, the beginning of the infamous friendship of Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles. I don't want to set myself up for failure with the rigid equation of one chapter equaling one episode in the series, not only would that be a heavy burden it would make the piece ridiculously long. But I will return to scenes, dialogue and themes that will be familiar to regular viewers of the show. I hope you'll hang with me as I try to tackle this. I can't guarantee regular updates or that I'll bring this piece clear to the present with the show. I am indebted to Dorothy Snarker for her recaps of the episodes—an archive of brilliance I was able to access as I planned out this piece.

**To Get Me To You**

Dr. Maura Isles sat quietly at her desk as she browsed page after page of shoes on her laptop screen. While her employees were at lunch, surely socializing with one another, the doctor sat alone.

The fear of having made a mistake was crippling. She wasn't usually one to second-guess her decisions, but this was different. Being in Boston now was nothing like her time here as a student. She was older, yes, and with that came decidedly different needs. Sexual partners, dinner dates, those were easy enough to find, especially with her philanthropic connections. Truly meaningful relationships were another matter.

Her employees feared her; her colleagues were turned off by her brilliance. The only thing she was certain of was her ability to do her job.

"Dr. Isles?" Maura was startled out of the inventory of her life by a vaguely familiar voice.

"Yes?" Maura looked up. "Oh."

She was unable to hide her surprise as she saw in the doorway to her office a woman she had seen once before though in much different circumstances …or… different attire.

"I figured I would get that response," the tall woman smirked.

"I…" Dr. Isles was unsure of what to say.

"Officer Jane Rizzoli," the woman stepped forward and held out her hand.

Maura stood and shook the officer's hand. The last time they met this woman looked, for lack of a more polite word, like a whore. She was dressed like every streetwalker the doctor had ever seen and the doctor had, unfortunately, treated her poorly.

"I was undercover. Vice."

"I see. It's a pleasure to officially meet you, Officer Rizzoli," Maura smiled.

"Please, just Jane."

"Maura," the doctor was surprised at how comfortable she was with this rather intriguing stranger. "Would you like to sit down?"

"No, I need to go. I wanted to introduce myself in case, you know, we ran into each other again and I wasn't undercover," Jane gave the infamous Rizzoli smile.

"Thank you for stopping by," Dr. Isles smiled back.

The doctor sat and watched as the officer walked through the morgue toward the elevator bay. She hadn't been quite so captivated by anyone she had met since returning to Boston. Who was this woman and why had she felt immediately comfortable in her presence?

oOo

_Five months later…_

Dr. Isles sat at her desk, signing what seemed an endless stack of bureaucratic nonsense. When she took the position of Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, she had no idea the sheer amount of paperwork that would be involved. There were a lot of things about this job she never truly prepared for, as a pathologist the only thing she was prepared for were the myriad of bodies that would come through the doors. She wasn't the type to be lonely, but there was something about being in Boston now that felt similar to loneliness.

"Dr. Isles," a voice broke the silence and immediately put a smile on the doctor's face.

"Office…er…Detective Rizzoli," Maura stood from her desk. "Congratulations on your promotion."

"If they let me keep it," Jane looked down, ashamed at her bandaged hands.

"Oh," Maura couldn't help but follow Jane's eyes and wonder about those healing hands. "I'm sorry about…"

"No, don't," Jane cut her off. "I came by to thank you for the flowers."

Dr. Maura Isles was a naturally inquisitive person. When she learned of what had happened to Jane Rizzoli at the hands of Charles Hoyt, she read every news story she could find and used her access to Boston Police Department records to retrieve the case files on Hoyt. Though she knew the facts of the case, she would never presume to know the psychological damage the serial killer must have left on the detective.

While the detective was in the hospital recovering from her encounter with Hoyt, the doctor didn't know what would be the appropriate thing to do, so, ever considerate, she sent flowers. She hoped Jane wouldn't find it odd and was pleased to learn she hadn't.

"You're welcome. I didn't know if you would be up for a visitor and when I called the hospital, I spoke to a woman who confused me for one of your doctors. She was quite frantic," Maura said.

This made the lanky detective chuckle.

"That was probably my mother," Jane said.

"Oh! I apologize for confusing her by introducing myself as Dr. Isles," Maura's anxiety snuck out.

"Don't worry about it," Jane smiled. "Ma is rather overbearing. She gets a little wound up when one of us gets hurt on the job."

"'One of us'?" Maura inquired.

"Frankie, my kid brother, he's a beat cop," Jane explained. "Just joined the force. Fresh out of the academy."

"It sounds like you have a strong tradition of public service in your family."

"Nah, we're making up for the other brother," the detective joked.

An awkward silence set in, Maura unable to find anything to say that wouldn't pry into the lives of the Rizzoli family. Despite her intrigue with the woman in her doorway, she said nothing as Jane stood fidgeting in self-consciousness.

"I should go," Jane said.

"It was good to see you, detective," Maura was able to say.

Offering a nod and a smile, Jane turned in the doorway to make her way out of the office.

"Hey, Dr. Isles?" Jane turned back to ask. "Would you like to have lunch sometime?"

"I…" Maura was stunned by the generosity of the detective. "Yes, I would like that."

Dr. Isles smiled. Could Jane Rizzoli be the friend she had been hoping to find?

oOo

"You did not!" Jane snorted as she put down her fork and wiped at her mouth with a napkin.

The woman sitting across from her was blushing after telling this relative stranger about her most recent date and how she had diagnosed the man on sight with a rare genetic disease.

"I thought he deserved to know," Maura shrugged. "Early treatment has proven effective."

Jane laughed out loud at this. She found the doctor both quirky and adorable, a rare combination for someone in her line of work.

"I haven't been on a date in awhile," Jane's voice became serious all of the sudden. "It's a little hard to explain away these…"

Jane lifted her hands and held them palms out for the doctor to see. There was pain in the detective's eyes that the doctor had no idea how to address. She hardly knew this woman, but she felt the deep desire to comfort her, soothe her pain. It was a strange sensation for Maura.

"I can't even begin to imagine," Maura was sincere.

"Anyway…" Jane grabbed for the bill. "Sorry to be a buzz kill."

"Buzz kill?" Maura was confused by the reference.

"You know, a party pooper? Mood killer?" Jane raised an eyebrow, she'd never met someone who was so obviously brilliant yet unable to grasp basic colloquialisms.

"Oh," Maura was embarrassed at how much she didn't understand. "You are certainly not a buzz kill, detective. Here, let me get this."

Jane Rizzoli's pride was now on full display. She refused to give up the bill and had already attached her credit card to the slip to hand to the waitress. She was not about to let the doctor pay for their lunch—their first lunch together.

"You get it next time," Jane smiled.

This brought a smile to the doctor's face. She hadn't driven the detective away. She was pleased to hear the detective would like to get together again. Maybe this would turn into something after all.

Just maybe.

oOo

_Six weeks later_…

Maura Isles was sitting at a bar called the Dirty Robber with three cops. It was a scenario she wouldn't have believed six months earlier. In fact, as she sat there it was still surreal. Making friends with Jane Rizzoli meant making friends with the people in Jane's life. In this case, her current partner Detective Barry Frost and her former partner Detective Vince Korsak.

While she continued to find herself out of place surrounded by cops in a social setting, she found herself strangely comfortable in the presence of Jane. They had easily fallen into a routine of spending time together whether at the bar after work or at a café for lunch. They had quickly become quite the team at a crime scene. Slowly she was learning about Jane—who she was, what she loved, why she was a cop.

"Time to call it a night," Korsak said as he stood up and put on his suit jacket. "Jane, Dr. Isles, it's been a pleasure."

Maura smiled at the detective, a man she had found to be wise and beyond helpful on cases. She wondered why he was no longer Jane's partner given the short amount of time the detective had been on the Homicide squad.

"I'm right behind you," Frost said, following the older detective and waving behind him at the two women at the table.

Jane reached for her own jacket, before placing her hand out on Maura's shoulder stopping her from standing. Her touch was surprising, not entirely unwanted by the honey-haired woman.

"Would you like to come over to my apartment?" she asked. "It's still early. I'm sure I have a bottle of wine and beer."

Maura found herself once again surprised by one of Jane's invitations.

"Yes, I would," Maura smiled.

The two women made their way out of the bar and seemed to decide on walking to Jane's apartment without a word exchanged between them. While they walked side-by-side in silence, Maura found herself continually glancing at the tall detective. She couldn't help but notice her beauty. Her raven hair was wavy and her understated makeup accentuated strong model-quality facial features.

"This is me," Jane slowed as they reached the steps outside her apartment building.

"What a great location," Maura followed Jane up the steps.

"It's no Beacon Hill, but it works for me."

This made Maura stall inside the front door of the building. Should she tell Jane that she was considering purchasing a home in the historic Beacon Hill neighborhood? She couldn't remember if she had told Jane where she currently lived.

"Don't tell me," Jane's face showed panic. "You have a Beacon Hill address?"

Maura shrugged her shoulders and began climbing the stairs again.

"Not yet," she answered.

Once they were inside Jane's apartment, Maura set down her purse and looked around the small, but warm apartment. It fit the detective perfectly. It wasn't fancy, yet it felt like a real home. It was everything Maura's condo was not. It felt lived in and welcoming.

"Would you like beer or wine?" came the voice from the small kitchen.

"Wine," Maura answered, walking toward the detective and taking a seat on a stool.

"Do you always drink wine?" Jane asked.

"Not always," the doctor answered. "But I do like it."

"I prefer beer," Jane said as she poured the doctor a glass of wine and reached for her bottle of beer.

"I've noticed."

"Yeah, what you see is what you get with me," she smirked.

Leaning against the kitchen counter, drinking her beer, Jane Rizzoli was easily the most interesting person in the world in that moment to Maura Isles. She couldn't help but watch the detective's every move. She had so many questions that had yet to completely form in her mind. She wanted to know everything about the detective.

"What?" Jane asked, noticing Maura staring.

"Sorry," Maura blushed and looked away.

Jane grabbed her beer and the wine bottle before walking toward the couch, assuming Maura would follow. The doctor followed, sitting with perfect posture on the detective's couch.

"Relax," Jane chuckled.

"Hmm?" Maura asked. She thought she was doing a good job of hiding her nerves.

"You don't have to be so, so…" Jane slouched against the arm of couch. "Put together. Get comfortable. Drink some more. Relax."

Maura smiled and leaned against the back of the couch.

"See? It's not so bad," she said while taking another gulp of her beer and put a foot up on the coffee table.

"I don't want you to be uncomfortable around me," Jane admitted.

"Oh, I am not uncomfortable," Maura assured her. "Quite the opposite, actually."

Jane raised an eyebrow at this.

"I'm not very good at social interaction," Maura explained. "I haven't really had many friends."

"That's sad!" Jane blurted. "Everybody needs friends."

Maura shrugged her shoulders and looked into her glass of wine. She knew she was awkward. She knew her intelligence could be intimidating. But she never really knew why she was terrible at making and keeping friends.

"Sorry, I tend to say what I'm thinking without, well, thinking."

"It's refreshing," Maura responded.

"Could you tell my mother that?" Jane laughed.

"Your mother sounds like an interesting woman."

"Interesting? More like irritating!" the detective shook her head. "She's a good mom, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I want to tell her to back off. It's the Italian in her, you know?"

At this Maura figured Jane was referring to the stereotype of Italian mothers. The stereotype she was familiar with despite having never met Jane's mother.

"Are you close to your parents?" Jane asked.

"Umm…" Maura considered how to answer this. "We don't see each other often. They are busy people."

"That's too bad," Jane tilted her head. "My family can be annoying, but I wouldn't trade them for anything."

Long buried pain was surfacing for Maura and she wanted nothing more than to change the subject.

"More wine?" Jane asked, holding the bottle over Maura's glass in anticipation.

"I won't be able to drive," Maura shook her head.

"I'll call you a cab," Jane said. "Or you're welcome to stay."

The offer was not as surprising to the doctor as it might once have been. The familiarity between them had grown quickly. Perhaps it was the wine or maybe it was simply the kind of person Jane Rizzoli was. Maura was beginning to feel as if she had known the person on the couch next to her for years.

The doctor noticed Jane rubbing her hands and found her mouth moving without thinking through what she was asking.

"Do they hurt?"

Jane looked down at her hands, stopped rubbing her palms and seemed embarrassed that the doctor had caught her.

"Sometimes."

"How many weeks of occupational therapy were you prescribed?"

"Eight," Jane cringed at the thought, something Maura took to mean it was a particularly long eight weeks as any type of physical or occupational therapy tended to be. "I quit after six."

This woman was deceptively complex. Underneath the sarcasm and bravado lived the hidden self-conscious person who hadn't had her detective's shield long and who had been bullied, ridiculed and questioned her entire life. To everyone else she was strong and brave on occasion, yet she was also fragile, unbelievably compassionate and harboring secrets that might one day spill out.

"This is none of my business," Maura hesitated. "I assume you had to see the BPD psychologist?"

She expected Jane to bristle. She did not.

"I did. It's required, you know?" the detective finished her beer.

Maura watched as the woman walked across the room to get another beer from the fridge. She began to worry that she had overstepped with her question.

"I didn't mean to…" she began when Jane returned to the couch.

"Hey, it's okay. It is what it is."

Looking at Jane, Maura once again saw the deep pain that had surfaced from time to time when she was observing her.

"Do you meditate?" the doctor's question was met with an inebriated guffaw.

"You're one of those, aren't you?" Jane teased.

"Which?"

"Yoga, health food, meditation?" the detective's tone was both light and yet not accusatory.

"Is that a bad thing?" Maura wondered.

"For you? No. For me? Definitely."

Maura shook her head and realized that Jane Rizzoli was truly her opposite in every way. And stubborn. It would take a great deal of prodding to convince the detective that meditation might be good for her.

"I'm going to grab another beer, my fifth tonight if you're keeping score. Something tells me that wouldn't jibe with your healthy lifestyle."

When Jane returned to the couch she was grinning ear to ear. It was going to take some getting used to, the joking and sarcasm of Maura's new friend.

"I have a weakness for Girl Scout cookies," she volunteered to the delight of her audience.

"Shocking!" Jane placed a hand over her heart, a mocking gesture.

Looking at the bottle of wine, the doctor couldn't decide if she should stop or not. Though she'd only had three glasses of wine, she, like the detective, was feeling slightly buzzed without the ability to self-censor.

"Another glass won't kill you," the dark-haired woman noticed the inner struggle the doctor was having.

"I'll have to stay," Maura revealed. "I don't feel comfortable taking a cab when inebriated. I don't trust my safety."

"You can take my bed and I'll sleep on the couch," she offered.

"No, this is your house. I can sleep on the couch."

Jane busied herself collecting a blanket, pillow and sleeping attire while Maura slipped off her heels.

Despite having gathered everything for bed, neither woman had any intention of abandoning their drinks or actually sleeping. It would be the first night of their friendship where they spoke freely until the early hours of the morning. And it wouldn't be the last.

oOo

Maura Isles was wide-awake. It was nearing four in the morning and by her best estimate she had been lying on this quite uncomfortable couch for over an hour staring at the ceiling.

When she and Jane had agreed it was time to get some sleep, she felt exhausted, but as soon as she got settled in and Jane retired to her room, she found she was wide-awake. The doctor's very busy mind was repeating the various things she had talked about with the detective tonight. Every few minutes she couldn't suppress the smile that broke out on her face. Tonight was one of the best nights she could remember having in years. It was laid back in a way that she was unaccustomed to. She had been more open than she usually was. And she felt at ease with Jane.

Wiping the smile quickly off her face was what Maura thought sounded like whimpering. She listened carefully for the noise to repeat. When it did she was now certain it was whimpering and it was without question coming from the part of the apartment where she assumed Jane's bedroom was.

It didn't take the genius doctor long to remember the details of Jane's encounter with Hoyt. She immediately considered the possibility that Jane had suffered from nightmares since what she believed must have been an unimaginable event in the detective's life.

Maura found herself panicking.

The sound echoed in the quiet apartment once again.

Should Maura attempt to wake Jane? She knew the risks of waking someone in the midst of sleepwalking, but she couldn't remember if any existed for those in the midst of a nightmare. As a pathologist, she never had to study parasomnia. However, the cause of her panic had to do with her new friendship with Jane. Did they know one another well enough at this point for Maura to approach the sleeping woman in her bedroom and wake her? She also wondered about her own ability to comfort another person. Could she?

The sound came louder this time. Maura made a split-second decision.

Approaching the detective's bedroom, she wasn't surprised to find her friend tangled in the bedding. She was, however, surprised by how heartbroken she felt at the sight of the clearly distressed woman.

"Oh, Jane," Maura whispered to herself.

She stood in the doorway for a moment, waiting to see if the whimpering was over. She took a moment to take in her surroundings, noticing how simply the room was furnished and how it fit Jane's personality perfectly.

Instead of a whimper, Jane cried out. It startled the doctor.

No longer able to stomach what she was seeing, Maura stepped toward the center of the room and stooped near the edge of the bed.

"Jane," Maura whispered. "Jane, wake up."

Her cries returned to whimpers. The doctor noticed her hair was matted from profuse sweating. She found herself wanting to reach out to move the hair out of Jane's face. She didn't.

"Jane," she said again, this time a bit louder.

When she received no response she moved positions so she was now perched on the edge of the bed. She thought the detective might feel her presence this way.

Watching Jane writhe in her bed, her legs constantly moving, her fists clenched, Maura wanted nothing more than to relieve Jane of the pain she was obviously in.

"Jane, it's me," she said. "You're having a nightmare."

She gently placed a hand on Jane's arm and could feel the twitching muscles.

"Jane," she raised her voice a bit higher and gave a gentle squeeze to a forearm.

This caused Jane to jerk awake. Without warning, Maura found her wrist in the tight grip of her friend. Though she wasn't fearful, despite the vice-like grip on her wrist, she was concerned with what Jane would say about Maura having come into her bedroom to wake her up.

"It's just me," she assured her.

The terror had not left Jane's face and she continued to clench the doctor's wrist.

"Oh, god," Jane was mortified by the situation.

"It's okay," Maura nodded toward her wrist and Jane immediately let go.

"I…" Jane started.

"You don't have to explain."

Maura stood from the edge of the bed and walked out of the dark bedroom. When she returned with a glass of water, Jane was sitting up, her hands covering her face.

"Here," she offered the glass. "You need to rehydrate. You've been sweating."

"I'm sorry," Jane groaned after she downed the glass of water.

"There's nothing to be sorry for," the doctor was at a loss as to where she should stand.

The brunette nodded to the edge of the bed, inviting Maura to sit.

"I doubt I should say this," she began, "but I can't imagine what you went through."

The detective was caught off guard, but she figured the curious doctor must have known all about her encounter with Charles Hoyt. As much as she liked Maura and as comfortable as she felt with her, she couldn't bring herself to talk about what had happened. Not with Maura and not with anybody else.

"We don't have to talk about it," Maura backtracked.

She suddenly felt terrible for even mentioning it. In the short time she'd known Jane Rizzoli, she had never known her to talk about the event that had changed her life. She certainly shouldn't have expected Jane to talk about it now. Not after a nightmare.

"Do you, umm, mind staying in here for a little while?" Jane's voice was wavering.

Maura had never seen the timid, vulnerable side of her friend until now.

"Not at all," Maura answered without hesitation.

Walking around the bed and climbing on top of the bedding, Maura wasn't sure what she was supposed to do.

"Just be here," Jane whispered.

"Okay."

They both stared at the ceiling for an incalculable time. Neither said anything. After awhile the ever-vigilant doctor noticed Jane's breathing slowing to a normal pace, a sign that she was no longer distressed. Maura kept thinking about how embarrassed Jane was and it made her sad. Jane should have someone in her life to hold her on nights like this. She shouldn't have to fight these battles alone.

Looking over at the detective, Maura noticed she had fallen asleep. There would be no more sleep for the doctor. Whether she was uncomfortable or afraid Jane would slip into another nightmare, she wasn't sure. The entire situation was foreign to her and she couldn't interpret her own feelings. She had not felt this protective of another person in her life.

Is this what true friendship was?

oOo

_To be continued…_


	2. To Get Me To You: Two

_Disclaimer: All recognizable _Rizzoli & Isles_ characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to Tess Gerritsen, Janet Tamaro and TNT. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fan fiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended._

_Author's Note: Thank you for your review to the first chapter of this piece. I'm sorry that I'm not able to update as quickly as you would all like, but life and all that… I've taken into account all of your comments on whether this piece should be a slow burn or quick to the romance. I think it will be a little of both. I've always thought there was romance inherent in Jane and Maura's relationship on the show—even as just friends. What they do for one another fits my definition of romance, anyway. Stick with me and hopefully you'll all see some satisfaction in this piece. –dkc_

**To Get Me To You – Chapter Two**

For all her self-confidence, Jane Rizzoli could be quite self-conscious given the right situation. That was the case after first night she invited Maura Isles to sleep at her home. It took several days for Jane to not be awkward and avoidant around the doctor at crime scenes and even longer for her to stop apologizing to Maura in private. She was mortified that Maura had seen her in that awful state during and after a nightmare.

While their friendship seemed to be back on track with Jane feeling much better about herself in Maura's presence, it wasn't lost on the brilliant doctor that Jane was avoiding any chance of another sleepover. Maura had been over to Jane's apartment, but only to pick the detective up or share a meal. It took months for Jane to not get anxious once the sun went down.

Maura Isles tried to not let Jane's standoffishness bother her, but she often wondered if she had done something wrong. For weeks she asked herself if she could have done things differently that night or if, perhaps, she wasn't the kind of person Jane trusted with that part of herself. Someone lost in her own head as often as Maura couldn't help but rehash that night over and over while her friend was trying desperately to forget it.

oOo

"Why Boston?" Jane asked over her cup of coffee and newspaper.

"Hmm?" Maura sat across from her in the Division One Café.

"Why did you choose Boston? With your credentials you could have had a job anywhere, right?"

Since becoming the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, nobody had ever asked her why she chose this place.

"I don't know that my credentials make me more well-suited than any other pathologist," Maura replied. "I was lucky that the governor wanted me here."

"Right," Jane's sarcasm kicked in. "Why would anyone want a gifted _pathologist_."

The way Jane mimicked Maura using the term pathologist and her use of sarcasm was lost on Maura. She furrowed her brow.

"I'm kidding, Maur," Jane teased. "No, really, why Boston?"

"The Isles Foundation is here," Dr. Isles shrugged her shoulders. "It's closer for my parents, my mother visits New York often."

Jane could count on one hand the number of times Maura had mentioned her parents. That the doctor would choose a city based on its proximity to a city her mother sometimes visited was confounding.

"I thought you didn't see your mother very often?" Jane posited.

"Call it wishful thinking," Maura stared into her coffee cup.

"What is your mother like?" Jane found herself suddenly interested in a woman who had raised the fascinating soul sitting across from her. "I mean, you've met Ma, I don't imagine your mother being anything like mine."

This made Maura laugh and brought her line of sight out of her cup and up to meet Jane's brown eyes.

"No, your mother is nothing like mine, quite opposite, actually. Your mother is warm and openly caring. My mother isn't cold, but she isn't what one would call approachable. She makes me nervous and I've known her my entire life. Imagine how strangers feel," Maura explained.

"Way to freak me out about meeting your mother!" Jane laughed, folding up her newspaper and taking the final drink of her coffee.

"Do you want to meet my mother, Jane?" the possibility of this excited and terrified the doctor.

"Well, yeah, someday. That's what friends do, right?" Jane smiled.

This was the first time in Maura's adult life that she actually felt comfortable enough with a person for an introduction to her parents. It hadn't seemed unusual when Jane introduced her to the Rizzoli matriarch, but Jane was much more open about and willing to share her family. It surprised Maura to find herself feeling like she truly wanted to share this part of her life with her friend.

"You coming, Maur?" Jane was already on her way out of the Division One Café.

There it was again. Jane had taken to truncating the doctor's name. Maura liked it, despite never having anyone do it before that she had approved of. Maura dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin, but couldn't wipe the smile away with the traces of lipstick and coffee.

oOo

Detective Jane Rizzoli was not somebody to mess with. This had been her reputation since she joined the force and even more so since she was promoted to Homicide. She was brash and unencumbered by the possibility of consequence. Her fellow detectives knew better than to push her buttons. What they didn't know was that one of those buttons was quickly becoming the Chief M.E.

"Did you see the Queen of the Dead this morning?" Detective Crowe was saying to a beat cop, he didn't notice that Detective Rizzoli was walking into the bullpen behind him. "Those heels belong on the street corner, you know what I mean?"

The beat cop was laughing at Crowe's lewd comment as Jane slammed the door behind them and gave them a look that shut them both up.

"Listen up, everybody!" Jane raised her voice for the squad to hear. "Dr. Maura Isles is the Chief Medical Examiner. Under no circumstances is anyone to call her Queen of the Dead or comment on her appearance. Are we understood? Anyone has a problem with that can answer to me."

There were a few snickers in the back, but the equally serious looks from Detectives Korsak and Frost shut them down. Jane grabbed Crowe by his forearm, pulled him to the side and got in his face.

"And Darren," her voice was resolute, "if I ever hear you speak of Dr. Isles' in such a despicable, demeaning way again, I will rip your balls off and shove them down your goddamn throat!"

Crowe didn't doubt Jane's threat. A look of genuine fear crossed his face as he walked out of the bullpen, presumably looking for cover.

"Jesus Christ!" Jane threw a pen down on her desk as she collapsed into her chair.

"Don't let him get under your skin, Rizzoli," Barry Frost consoled his partner. "He's not worth it."

"I don't care if he's worth it, she's a colleague, a human being and they damn well better start treating her like one!"

"For what it's worth, I hear Detective Crowe applied for a job with the Feds," Korsak piped in.

"Would serve the Feds right to get that asshole," Jane began rooting for that exact outcome.

"You did a good thing, Janie," Korsak said.

Jane rolled her eyes. Whether she rolled her eyes in response to the nickname Korsak used for her or how passionately she had defended Maura to her colleagues nobody knew.

They also didn't notice in the commotion that Maura had stepped off the elevator just in time to hear Jane asking for everyone's attention. She waited, assuming they were working, but soon heard Jane chastising her colleagues in a tone that could only be described as livid. When she heard the topic spurring on Jane's anger, she stepped into the stairwell to provide herself cover. Once the door closed she leaned against the wall and noted her rapidly beating heart. Maura took stock of the people in her life and couldn't think of anyone who would so brazenly defend her.

Just Jane.

oOo

Maura Isles sat at her desk at nearly ten o'clock on a Friday night. It had been a long week and she wanted to complete paperwork before her weekend began. She wasn't on call and didn't want to come in at any point to finish what there wouldn't be time for come Monday morning. There was also a loneliness that crept in from time to time that kept her at work rather than going home to an empty house. This felt like one of those nights. Being alone in the morgue was different than being alone at home.

The sound of the elevator caught her attention. She heard every step of the approaching visitor, unafraid given the lockup procedures at the station after dark.

"Working late, Dr. Isles?" came the familiar voice.

Without looking up, Maura gestured to an empty chair for her friend. When she sensed the detective was off in some way she lifted her head and was surprised to see Jane in a skirt.

"You can wipe the shock off your face. It's a skirt, I haven't grown another head."

Jane flopped down on the chair and ran her hands through her loose, wavy hair.

"What is the occasion?" Maura asked, attempting to stifle her surprise at the detective in a skirt.

"Ma set me up on a blind date. It was a disaster," Jane huffed.

The very unladylike way Jane was sitting gave Maura a view of her long legs. The doctor found herself blushing as she was caught looking.

"What qualifies as a disaster?" she tried to hide her embarrassment.

"Me on a date. That's pretty much it."

"It couldn't have been that bad," Maura stood, straightened her skirt and walked around to the front of her desk where she leaned with poise.

"Dating is stupid," Jane sounded childish, she realized. "Maybe I'm not built for relationships."

"Did something happen?" the doctor was quite curious now.

"It started off fine. We had dinner; we talked about our families. But then I talked about my job and he seemed insulted."

"Insulted?" the doctor didn't understand how Jane's job was an insult.

"Like it was an insult to his manhood to be on a date with a tough, independent cop," Jane shook her head. "What is it with guys? It's not like I'm the first female cop on the planet."

"Oh! I believe I can relate to this. I have mentioned being a medical examiner to a poor reception more than once," Maura explained.

Jane smiled at the thought of Maura explaining that she examined the stomach contents of sliced open dead people for a living. The detective had it easy.

"You win!" Jane chuckled. "At least I didn't have to answer questions over dinner about the Y-incision."

Maura smiled at how seamlessly Jane transitioned from frustrated to jest. The doctor wondered how anyone wouldn't be pleased to be on a date with this woman.

"Dating isn't for me," Jane assessed. "At this stage in my life, what's the point?"

"Don't you want a husband eventually?" Maura's mouth moved faster than her mind. "Not that it is any of my business."

"It's fine," Jane assured her. "I guess I just figured it would've happened by now if it was going to happen, you know?"

This made Maura introspective. She knew all too well what Jane meant.

"Yes," she left it at that.

The difference, in the doctor's mind was that Jane seemed like a catch. She was independent, courageous and quite beautiful. She was caring and compassionate. Her job might prevent the usual routines of life on occasion, but it made Jane the person she was. She couldn't imagine Jane doing anything else. Why wouldn't someone be enticed by Jane? They would be lucky to be with her.

"I'm not sure how I'll ever explain myself to someone else. I mean all the crap. The scars, the nightmares," Jane's voice carried sadness, a sadness that caused Maura to feel guilty for thinking about the man lucky enough to be with her friend.

"When you meet the right person, you either won't have to explain yourself to them or it will come easily."

"Yeah, maybe," Jane shrugged.

What she couldn't help thinking was that Maura was the first person since her run in with Hoyt that didn't make her constantly anxious with the thought that she might one day have to explain in detail what had happened.

"I've never had to explain it to you," Jane observed. "But you're a doctor, right? You know what damage was done to my hands. I'm also assuming the ever curious Maura Isles did her research and knows all about Charles fucking Hoyt."

It was the first time Maura had heard Jane use the f-word and it made her cringe. Here was this beautiful, intelligent woman using a word that Maura had been raised to never speak. Cursing was not something you did in the circles Maura grew up drifting through. Yet there was something raw and powerful about Jane cursing that also brought an immediate reaction to the doctor. She couldn't quite place what that reaction was.

"Why are you at the office on a Friday night?" the detective realized Maura wasn't going to comment on the Hoyt incident and she'd never bothered to ask why the M.E. was at the office.

"Paperwork," the M.E. omitted the bit about her lonely house.

Jane stood and walked around Maura's desk where she shutdown her laptop and turned off the desk lamp. Maura was confused.

"Give me a ride home?" Jane responded to the confused look on her friends face.

"Of course," Maura grabbed her purse and followed Jane out of the deserted morgue.

"We both need to get a life," Jane joked as the elevator doors closed.

Maura realized as they exited the station that Jane was rapidly becoming the most important person in her life.

_To be continued…_


	3. To Get Me To You: Three

_Disclaimer: All recognizable _Rizzoli & Isles_ characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to Tess Gerritsen. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fanfiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended._

_Author's Note: An oversight happened with chapter two regarding the rating of this story. My intent is for this story to increase in rating in later chapters, but I didn't realize I had left the rating at K from the start. I've upped it to T for now for language only. I will make a note in the future when the rating changes. -dkc_

**To Get Me To You – Chapter Three**

Jane Rizzoli was a hotheaded, reactionary personality when those she cared for were threatened. This was no surprise to her. However, when she arrived back at headquarters and learned a man identifying his brother had lost control of himself, throwing furniture and getting in the face of the medical examiner, she took off down the stairwell to the basement.

"Where is Dr. Isles?" she said, busting into the lab out of breath.

The lab assistant, a professional and notably bright woman whose name escaped Jane, pointed wide-eyed to the locker room on the other side of the morgue.

"Maura?" she called loudly.

Pushing the door open to the small room, Jane saw Maura sitting on the bench in the middle of the room. Clad in black scrubs, the doctor was staring at a closed locker.

"Maur?" the detective said in a more gentle voice, closing the door behind her.

When Maura looked over at Jane, her eyes were brimming with tears. She had never seen her friend cry. She sat down on the bench and covered the doctor's hand with her own.

"Are you okay?" Jane whispered.

Shaking her head, a tear escaped Maura's eye.

"I was scared."

"Of course you were, honey," came the only logical response.

The term of endearment only served to make Maura more emotional. Tears were now streaking her cheeks.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Jane gave a gentle squeeze to her friend's hand. 

"No," she sobbed.

Without hesitation Jane Rizzoli, the hard-edged, often brash detective, wrapped her arms around the M.E. It was the first time Maura could remember allowing someone to hug her while she was upset. She cried into Jane's shoulder.

"Shh," Jane soothed her.

They sat there until Maura was calm. Both of them thought how natural it felt to have one another for situations like this. Neither of them could ignore how nice it felt.

oOo

Sitting on the familiar though quite uncomfortable couch, Maura wondered why they never went to her house on Friday nights.

Friday nights.

She couldn't tell you when their Friday night routine began. They'd gone to the Dirty Robber at first and then Jane started inviting her over for beer and pizza. Tonight they were eating Vietnamese food while watching a baseball game. Baseball was brand new to Maura thanks to Jane.

"Why does the coach go on the field to switch players?" Maura asked. "They clearly have a phone in the dugout."

"Tradition and morale," Jane said with a mouthful of food that Maura found appalling.

"Morale?" the doctor asked a lot of questions.

"You know, to tell the pitcher he'll get 'em next time and to get the new pitcher pumped up while laying out the game plan."

Jane took a swig of her beer and put her sock clad feet on the coffee table. Maura returned her attention to the ballgame until Jane suddenly cheering startled her.

"Way to go, Pedey!" her hands clenched in excitement.

Maura was utterly confused.

"But he was out," she said.

"Yeah, but he moved over the runner," Jane countered.

"I don't understand," Maura looked at Jane in anticipation of another baseball lesson.

"You know how hard a bunt is in a high pressure situation?" Jane's eyes locked on the doctor.

"No?" Maura answered with embarrassment.

"Have you ever tried to bunt?"

"No, I've never participated in a game," the doctor shrugged somewhat in defeat.

"You haven't?" Jane's voice rose. "You 'play' baseball, Maur. 'Participate' sounds too—"

She suddenly stood up to holler at the television. Some play had ruined the rally. Maura thought she knew what rally meant.

"You're going to play," Jane stated nonchalantly.

"Excuse me?" Maura shifted on the couch so she could look up at the tall, lean woman.

"Homicide has a team. You can come play."

The way Jane so casually included Maura continued to surprise the doctor. She had always been left out of group activities. Here she was a woman in her mid-thirties and she not only had a friend, a best friend for the first time, she was going to play baseball.

oOo

Arriving at the crime scene, Maura found she was relieved that her evening had been interrupted by a murder. Though an Isles, she had learned the etiquette of charity fundraisers, but never rid herself of the awkwardness of talking to complete strangers. That went for speaking to the press, too. She bypassed a nosey reporter and made her way toward the house.

Relieved to see her friend, she was immediately met with the curiousity of what had happened to the usually handsome woman's face. A broken nose, she had no doubt. She had never had to diagnose Jane with anything before now. She smiled at the thought of how Jane was constantly making fun of her terrible habit of diagnosing her dates. Jane, however, was not a date. Not yet. That thought, however harmless and private it was, startled Maura.

Unfortunately, Maura couldn't focus on the crime scene to rid her of the inappropriate thought she'd had about her best friend. The brazen, tough detective asked the M.E. to fix her nose. Not thrilled with the idea of a live patient, Maura gave in to the request and ended up looking at Jane's nose, her hand on her chin. For a split second their eyes met, whether it was the earlier thought that Maura had entertained that caused it or something else entirely, she thought there was a spark in the detective's eyes.

Touch was not something foreign to their friendship. Maura had quickly learned that Jane was the kind of person that naturally touched someone for any number of reasons. The had hugged on a number of occasions, usually while celebrating, all beginning that day in the morgue locker room when Maura had fallen apart and ended up with Jane's arms wrapped around her.

Jane thanked her genuinely as they turned their focus on the unusual murder scene. Maura's guilt about thinking of Jane in anything but a strictly platonic way was quickly replaced by fear. Fear for Jane, mostly.

Looking at the crime scene, it was immediately apparent that the modus operandi was identical to that of The Surgeon. The Surgeon, otherwise known as Charles Hoyt, brought immediate concern to everyone on the scene. For Maura, concern was her initial feeling, concern for Jane alone. For her part the detective seemed angry and bracing herself for a hellish case. Her jaw tightened, her fists clenched and there was a wild, predatory look in her eye that Maura couldn't remember every having seen.

Before they could properly consider the meaning of the scene, an FBI agent stormed into the room with the air of superiority that they had both come to connect with federal agents.

Only the thought of Charles Hoyt killing again could be broken by Jane's hatred of the Feds who all too often took control of her most important crime scenes.

Unlike Jane, Maura continued to have a pit in her stomach and worry clouded her mind. She did everything she could, including slight flirting with and acting impressed by the presence of the FBI agent, to rid her body and mind of the fear that had overtaken it with the mere sound of Charles Hoyt's name.

Maura had never felt this protective of and fearful for another person in her life.

oOo

Feeling helpless, Maura stopped looking at the screen in front of her. She had left her assistants to the lab work and was searching the BPD servers for every bit of information on Charles Hoyt. Everything she read only made her more worried.

The doctor closed her laptop, leaned forward and held her head in her hands.

"Hey," Jane's familiar voice was soft out of respect for how she found her friend.

Dr. Isles looked up to see an equally frustrated Detective Rizzoli. Jane made herself at home on the couch in Maura's office.

"How did it—" Maura stopped herself. "Are you okay?"

Jane had returned from the prison where she went to question serial killer Charles Hoyt about the latest crime scene. She looked worse for the wear.

"Yeah," the raven-haired detective shrugged.

Even Maura, ever confused by body language and easily thrown by sarcasm, knew that Jane was barely keeping it together. She was wringing her hands. Her eyes were dark with what Maura assumed was fear—a greater fear than Maura had ever felt. She stood from her desk and went around to the couch, taking a seat next to Jane. She immediately noticed that Jane had on perfume. It was a scent she had never associated with her friend, but she couldn't place it. It wasn't her usual subtle lavender tone.

"Is there any science to fear?" Jane asked solemnly.

"Certainly," Maura began in the informative doctoral tone she often utilized. "There's the adrenaline that sets in when a person fears an action, person or surrounding. That adrenaline works with our memory to leave a mark that will often cause a physical sensation to return when the same scenario returns."

"That's not what I mean…" Jane dropped her head back in frustration.

"You have every reason to fear him, Jane."

Maura had finally caught on to what Jane was asking. Jane was hoping there was science to who or what we fear, not why that fear remains with us.

"I hate that he makes me feel this way, that he can get in my head," the detective said without making eye contact with the doctor.

"Jane…" Maura's hand reached for Jane's.

This is a move Jane might have made in the past, but not something Maura would have ever tried had she never met Jane. She knew how protective Jane was of her hands. She rarely showed her scars willingly to another person. She placed her hand over the detective's and waited for Jane to say something else.

"God, I hate this!" Jane tilted her head and Maura could see the tears in her eyes.

"I know," the doctor gave a gentle squeeze to the scarred hand beneath her own.

Shaking her head and attempting to blink away the tears, Jane was mortified at how emotional she was being in front of Maura. She hated crying, always had. It was something her brothers would tease her about when it happened when they were kids. Her Ma always told her it was okay, but Jane never got over her annoyance with it.

"It's going to be okay," Maura's voice was full of empathy and care. "He can't hurt you now."

This made Jane's tears begin to fall.

Scooting slightly closer, Maura's other hand came to rest on her friend's knee. She wanted to comfort Jane; she wanted to assure her. She didn't know how. Instead she did the only thing that came to her mind; she intertwined her fingers with Jane's. Jane's body registered her surprise, but she didn't stop the touch. Instead, she looked down at their hands, two hands completely different in both their everyday use and their care, yet two hands that were gentle like this and startling comfortable together.

There was intimacy in that moment, an intimacy also reflected in the look they shared. While Maura considered what it all meant, Jane found herself in a strange trance of contemplating Maura's lips. The thought alone scared her and she found herself writing it off. Her mind was in a bad place because of Hoyt. She decided her thoughts and actions could not be held against her right now.

"Jane?" Maura's voice caught her attention and she was afraid she might have blushed as if caught thinking aloud about her friend's lips.

"Hmm?" she attempted to shake the thoughts from her mind.

"Your phone?" Maura nodded toward the detective's hip where her cell was buzzing.

"Oh!" Jane reached for it, answering it with embarrassment.

The detective rose from the couch as her conversation came to an end. Snapping her cell closed, she nodded to her friend, her lingering embarrassment contained.

"They've found the wife's body," Jane told the doctor. "We better go."

The moment might have been broken by the sound of the phone, but the memory would not be. Unfortunately, Jane would do her best to never relive it while Maura waited with anticipation for the day that they would.

_To be continued…_


	4. To Get Me To You: Four

_Disclaimer: All recognizable _Rizzoli & Isles_ characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to Tess Gerritsen. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fanfiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended._

_Author's Note: As you probably noticed, chapter three mentioned the first few scenes of the pilot episode of the series. The first scene of this chapter comes from the same episode—the infamous "are we having a sleepover?" scene. I added to it. -dkc_

**To Get Me To You – Chapter Four**

Jane Rizzoli was as stubborn as she was prideful. Arriving at Maura's home tonight, running from her mother's overbearing visit, these were things she found despicable. She should be able to handle her own life, her job, and her past, all of it. But she couldn't. She was afraid. The only safe place to go was to the home of her best friend.

She was lying in Maura's guestroom after seeing the doctor answer the door to none other than a Fed. Agent Dean handed her a file and then left. Jane didn't know what to make of it.

"Go away I'm asleep," Jane said at the knock on the door.

Maura entered the room with a smile and then joined Jane on the bed. Quite closely on the bed, in fact.

"Are we having a sleepover or is this your way of telling me you're attracted to me?" Jane joked.

Maura's chuckle seemed natural, but she found herself riddled with nerves. She did find Jane attractive. Who wouldn't? She hadn't allowed herself to consider it beyond the purely superficial. They both smiled and let a beat pass.

"So it was Dean you were expecting," Jane attempted a neutral voice.

The doctor hesitated, considering in her mind how much she could actually tell her friend.

"He wanted my opinion on another case," she said.

"What case?"

"I can't say."

Jane began fiddling with her hands, a sign of irritation, jealousy or both.

"Fine, go sleep in your own room," there was an edge to her sarcasm.

"Jane," Maura took a deep breath, neither woman looking at the other.

"Did you ever like the same guy as your best friend?" Jane tilted her head.

"No."

"Did you ever have a best friend?" she now looked at the doctor.

"You'd tell me if you were a cyborg, right?" Jane chuckled.

"No, I don't think I would," Maura managed to keep a straight face while Jane chuckled again.

"I'm not seeing him," Maura clarified.

"Yet," Jane's tone was edgy again.

"Well, somebody should, don't you think?" Maura thought.

Considering what she knew about her best friend in the months after what had happened with Hoyt, Maura thought a relationship, even a casual one, might be good for her. Here was this man that Jane would never have to explain the scars on her hands for. And at first glance he seemed a genuinely nice guy.

"Yup," Jane was not enthused.

"Should we draw straws?" Maura was not at all interested in Dean.

"Couldn't we just show him our tits and let him decide?" Jane's question, one she knew if realized would leave Maura the victor by far, made them both laugh uncomfortably.

They hadn't looked at one another throughout the exchange and both were increasingly uneasy about this conversation. When their strained laughter subsided, a noise startled Jane and she quickly sat up.

"What was that?" she asked in complete fear.

"No, it's okay," Maura too say up, placing a hand on Jane's upper arm. "It's just Bass."

Jane was fearful and skeptical, but Maura's hand on her arm and steady look began to reassure her.

"Really, it's okay," Maura said calmly.

When Jane lay back down, Maura rubbed her forearm briefly and may have even laid back down closer to Jane than she was before. They were quiet, Jane resuming the anxious rubbing of her hands.

"I've never been so scared in all my life," Jane reluctantly admitted.

Not making eye contact as she said it, Jane was surprised by her complete honesty with Maura. She never would have said those words to her mother or Frankie. Maura, on the other hand, wasn't surprised that Jane was scared; she had every right to be. What Maura did find surprising is that Jane was more scared now by the threat of Hoyt that when he had her in that basement, her hands pinned to the ground with his scalpels.

The doctor looked over at Jane, noting the fidgeting had picked up, and the woman caught her eye. There was absolute fear in Jane's dark eyes.

"Jane," Maura reached a hand across her own body and placed it on Jane's hands to still them. "It's going to be okay."

The detective found herself looking at the ceiling, attempting to hide the emotion in her eyes. When she finally glanced back at Maura, she saw nothing but concern and compassion in the doctor's eyes. She found herself wishing she and Maura had been close when she had her first run-in with Hoyt. This woman had a power over her that didn't compare to anyone else in her life. She could calm and reassure her like no one she had ever met.

"I know I said you had to go sleep in your own room—" Jane was ashamed to be asking her friend to stay.

Maura didn't make the sheepish detective say it.

"Of course I'll stay."

oOo

Maura had never been so terrified for another person. Charles Hoyt, the Surgeon, and his apprentice had Jane. Knowing what she did about her friend's history with Hoyt, she knew there was a possibility he wouldn't allow the detective to get away this time. The addition of an apprentice also worked in Hoyt's favor.

Don't let this happen to my only friend, Maura thought.

When she was standing in Jane's ransacked apartment she realized how afraid she truly was. The apartment was trashed, certainly. She looked through everything multiple times for clues. All she found were more questions. Some of her questions were related to the case, others were merely questions that Maura's curiosity couldn't drop. She wondered about Jane's neighbor. A law student, quite a bit younger than the detective, she seemed to genuinely care about Jane. Maura couldn't help but wonder if there hadn't been a history between them, an intimacy that had ended before the ordeal with Hoyt the first time. It seemed unlikely. As far as she knew, Jane dated men and men alone. In fact, Jane had gone on a date with Agent Dean. Attempting to understand Jane's type wasn't going to help.

Arriving at the crime scene, Maura was relieved to see Jane sitting between the open doors of an ambulance. The M.E. was there for Hoyt's apprentice, but her priority was Jane.

"Hi," Maura approached the detective as the FBI agent was retreating. "Am I interrupting?"

The smile on Jane's face was the greatest comfort Maura could ask for.

"Can you sit for a minute?" the detective acted as if she were the one interrupting Maura's work.

Not bothering with a reply, Maura put down her exam case and nudged her friend with her shoulder as she sat down.

"I'm glad to see you," Jane spoke with a hint of reflection.

"You have no idea how relieved I am to see you," Maura added.

A comfortable silence descended on the two friends as they watched the various EMTs and police officers come and go.

"I shouldn't keep you," Jane finally said, a reminder that Maura had a job to do.

"Will you be okay?" Maura asked.

"Yeah."

"When I'm done here, I'll take you home."

"Don't worry about it," Jane couldn't fathom sitting at what was now a crime scene for much longer. "I'll have one of the guys give me a ride."

"Text me when you get there?" Maura was suddenly afraid her question might be too overprotective.

"Okay."

As the doctor stood from the uncomfortable place in the ambulance, she looked around at the scene and then back at her friend.

"Oh, Jane?" Maura caught the detective's eye before walking away. "I'll be over as soon as I'm done here."

For once Jane didn't argue. She knew as well as Maura did that being alone tonight was the last thing in the world she wanted.

oOo

"You should slow down," the doctor warned her rattled friend.

While they should have been cleaning Jane's ransacked apartment, they were sitting in an all-night diner. The detective had been drinking beer as if it were water. Maura was concerned.

"Really? You're going to cut me off after the night I've had?" Jane was flattered Maura cared and dropped the annoyance in her voice.

"Once the rest of your body catches up to how fast you were able to swallow all of this," she gestured to the six empty bottles, "you'll thank me."

Jane smiled at how confident her friend was at calculating time, weight, quantity and proof in her mind.

"You also should be eating."

As hard as she had tried, the putrid smell of Hoyt's burning flesh as she shoved the flare into his face wouldn't leave her nostrils. Having shot him in both hands bothered her less than that stench. Her stomach wouldn't entertain actual food.

When Jane didn't answer, the doctor knew she had lost the battle.

"Why don't you stay at my house tonight?" she offered.

"I'm a big girl, I don't need a babysitter," Jane signaled for another beer.

"I didn't say you did," Maura began tidying her spot and reaching into her purse for her wallet.

"No, no," Jane placed a hand across the table to stop Maura. "This is on me."

Her instinct to argue was halted by the touch of Jane's hand. Mere hours before Maura worried she might never see this woman again. The touch was of comfort, but it was also the realization of how much she would have missed Jane's touch if the night had gone differently.

oOo

"Oh god," Jane groaned as she stumbled into her mess of an apartment. "Was it this bad when we left?"

"I told you to come to my place," Maura set down her purse and went to the kitchen to get the inebriated detective a glass of water.

Jane walked into her bedroom, bypassing her couch that had slashed cushions. When Maura came in she found her sprawled out on the bed.

"Drink this," she insisted.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, Maura began taking off her heels and various accessories.

"What are you doing?" Jane blurted.

"I'm not leaving you alone tonight."

"Did you see the state of my couch?" Jane found herself contemplating how much their friendship had grown and how six months earlier Maura never would have been so bold when it came to caring for Jane.

Looking over her shoulder at the dark-haired woman, Maura rolled her eyes letting Jane know precisely her intentions.

"Fine, but if you hog the blankets I'm pushing you onto the floor," Jane slurred.

After finishing her water, the detective stumbled around the room gathering pajamas for them both. She was settled in bed when Maura finished in the bathroom and joined her. There was something particularly stunning about Maura in a long t-shirt. Jane couldn't help herself; her eyes took in the sight.

"You're beautiful," her mouth moved faster than her brain.

Feeling her blushing cheeks, Maura turned away to shut off the bedside lamp. She knew that Jane was drunk yet she was flattered. She avoided thinking about the flutter in her stomach.

"You're supposed to thank me," Jane said as Maura crawled into bed.

"Thank you."

The two women lay facing one another without speaking. The heaviness of what had transpired with Hoyt, dulled by the alcohol, left Jane swimming in what-ifs.

"I was scared," the detective all but whispered.

"I know," Maura's voice was sympathetic.

When Jane's hand reached out to grasp Maura's, the doctor was taken aback. It wasn't about comfort. Her touch was about something else and Maura did everything she could to not read too much into it. More and more they were dancing around what their touchy-feely nature toward one another meant. The doctor assumed Jane's drunkenness was at fault in this moment, but what about all the other moments their gaze lingered, their bodies touched? It was too much for Maura to sort through after the day they were finally putting to bed.

"Maur?" Jane was nearly asleep.

"Hmm?"

"I kept seeing your face," Jane could barely keep her eyes from fluttering shut. "I kept thinking about how much I wanted to see you again."

Maura felt her eyes welling with tears. Though she couldn't say it herself, Maura had felt similarly as she rushed to the crime scene. Her life had changed greatly since she met Jane and she couldn't imagine going back to how it was. She had grown to care deeply for Jane. She hadn't been this close to another person in a very long time, if ever.

"Me too," Maura whispered. "Me too."

_To be continued…_


	5. To Get Me To You: Five

_Disclaimer: All recognizable _Rizzoli & Isles_ characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to Tess Gerritsen. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fanfiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended._

_Author's Note: I've decided not to point out where this story coincides with an episode or extends on a scene. If you're reading fanfic, you likely know the series well enough to figure it out for yourself. Thank you all for continuing to read and for your comments/reviews. –dkc_

**To Get Me To You – Chapter Five**

Maura Isles was jealous.

Sitting in the Dirty Robber watching Jane interact with Joey Grant made Maura's stomach hurt. She found herself defensive, her pulse quickening and her fists clenching. This was jealousy, one of the many feelings she hadn't experienced before Jane.

As Grant waddled away with his blistered feet, Maura found herself looking at Jane. Really looking. Here was this woman who had come to her rescue in the morgue today and wouldn't accept Maura's gratitude. She was beautiful, funny, and intelligent in ways that truly impressed Maura. The doctor was beginning to find her attractive.

Whatever jealousy she was feeling was calmed by the reminder of Jane bursting into the lab to rescue her from the dangerous situation the case had left her in. Thinking back to Jane hitting the old cop with the baseball bat she'd left in the lab earlier was a realization Maura hadn't encountered before. That person wasn't simply Jane the cop. That person was Jane the person and Jane the person cared about Maura.

"You want to get out of here?" Jane asked after finishing her beer.

"Yes," Maura found herself replying without even thinking about it. "I can drive."

While Jane was still legal to drive, she didn't protest when they reached the doctor's car. She wanted to be wherever Maura was tonight. The incident in the morgue had really rattled her.

"I hope you don't mind," Maura said as she drove in the opposite direction of Jane's apartment, clearly taking them to her house.

"Of course not," Jane shrugged, her eyes on the road.

They made it to Maura's house and quickly fell into the comfortable routine of grabbing drinks and settling in on the couch.

Contemplating Joey Grant and her friend, Maura asked a question that had been on her mind of late.

"Do you think about marriage often?"

Jane nearly choked on her beer, wiping it from her chin and placing the bottle on the coffee table.

"Where the hell did that come from?" she continued to be surprised by Maura's randomness.

"You don't think you'll eventually find someone?" Maura was quite serious.

"Did I say that?" Jane sputtered.

"No, but I can tell by your avoidance of the subject that you aren't confident that marriage is in your future."

Jane wondered how Maura had come to know her so well in a relatively short amount of time. She read her facial features, her silence and her body language with ease.

"I did once, but not anymore," the cop quietly admitted without looking at Maura.

"Aren't you lonely?" Maura took a sip of wine, hiding behind her glass out of fear of Jane's reaction.

"No, I guess I'm really not," Jane handled the question better than Maura expected. "I have my family, I have you."

"But you need other things, Jane. You need sex."

"What?! I don't need sex," the brunette's voice raised.

"It's perfectly healthy and it has many benefits," Maura smiled and did the little shoulder shake that made her look absolutely adorable and often served to defuse situations like this.

"We are not having this conversation," Jane put her foot down.

"There are some things family and friends can't give us," Maura seemed pensive.

"Well, yeah. Unless you've got a different idea of friendship than I do," Jane's sarcasm was her own way of trying to defuse the conversation.

"Are you lonely?" Jane's voice took on a note of seriousness.

"I have been, yes. Your friendship has improved this markedly," she smiled.

"Good."

Jane returned to her bottle of beer, thinking about how much her own life had changed since she met the M.E.

"It's not out of the question, you know," Maura was somewhat lost in her own drink, too.

"Loneliness?" Jane asked.

"A different idea of friendship…" Maura smirked.

"Gah! No. Stop," the detective stood and walked toward the kitchen, hoping to put an end to this conversation, but also hoping to get her breathing and heartbeat under control.

Did Maura just imply what Jane thought she did? _Shit._

oOo

_"You're gorgeous, my friend."_

Those four words were now repeating over and over in her mind. She knew most men found her gorgeous, but to hear Maura say it was another matter.

Attempting yet again to focus on the case files in front of her, Jane tried to put Maura's words out of her head.

She must have dozed off because the next thing she remembered was waking in a blind panic. This case was in her head and playing tricks on her, yes, but not nearly as much as Maura was. She had to pick her jaw off the floor when Maura showed up in her silk pajamas. Jane wondered if Maura had ever left the house without being perfectly put together before, especially in the middle of the night. There was real concern on Maura's face when she arrived. It reminded Jane of the nights she used to call Maura about Hoyt when she was having nightmares. Those were the early days of their friendship when the detective was insecure and never would have asked Maura to hurry over.

Who the hell was she kidding? Jane was still insecure only now she was insecure about Maura calling her gorgeous.

"Are you okay?" Maura had hung up the phone after putting in requests for new tests and was noticing Jane staring off into space.

"Yeah, I'm sorry to have bothered you. You didn't have to come over."

"Nonsense. You wouldn't have called if you didn't need me. Besides, you would have done the same for me," she smiled.

Jane couldn't stifle a yawn.

"You should go to bed," the doctor said. "Get a few more hours sleep."

"Will you stay?" Jane asked.

"Yes, but I will have to leave early to pick up some clothes. I don't think my pajamas would be appropriate for the morgue."

This made Jane chuckle.

"You could always leave a dress or some clothes here," she found herself saying without realizing how it mind sound. "I mean in case you ever need a change of clothing, my house is closer to the station than yours."

Nice, Jane. She worried it might sound too much like a relationship to make such an offer.

"Thanks, Jane. I will. Maybe some pajamas, too," Maura stood, winking as she made her way out of the living room. "Jane? Are you coming? Neither of us is sleeping on that couch."

Jane's jaw was on the floor yet again. Maura seemed to do this to her.

oOo

Maura woke at a little after six. It took her a moment to realize where she was not because she had forgotten coming over to Jane's in the middle of the night but because two strong arms were wrapped around her waist. The arms belonged to Jane as did the face nuzzled into Maura's neck. The doctor momentarily shivered. She wasn't cold, though certain bodily reactions suggested otherwise.

How would Dr. Isles get out of this precarious situation? As she was considering her escape she felt Jane stirring against her back.

"Oh god," Jane groaned, releasing the doctor immediately and putting space between them. "I should have warned you that I'm a cuddler."

Maura let out the most genuine laugh. It should have been anxious, but the revelation that big, tough Jane Rizzoli was a cuddler struck her funny.

"You think that's funny?" Jane used Maura's shoulder to turn her over so that they were now facing.

"Yes," Maura's chuckle earned her a poke in the belly.

"Here I was going to apologize, too," Jane continued poking and eventually tickling the doctor who was now practically splayed on top of the brunette. "You aren't getting an apology!"

Their faces were suddenly very close and the tension unavoidable.

"You don't have to apologize," Maura's voice was softer than she expected.

Jane's hand was resting on Maura's hip as they both froze in tense silence. The detective's eyes not so subtly looked at Maura's lips. It wasn't the first time she had given those lips thought and it wouldn't be the last. She thought she was reading her friend accurately and responded by leaning toward those tantalizing lips. Just as she could actually feel Maura's breath on her lips, the woman practically on top of her pulled back.

"I should go," she smiled.

"You don't want to go to work in that?" Jane joked, attempting to hide her disappointment.

"Something tells me it wouldn't be well received," Maura put her shoes on and made her way through the bedroom door.

"Something tells me it would be very well received!" Jane hollered just before she heard her front door close.

_What was that?!_ Had Maura not pulled away Jane would have kissed her.

She would have kissed her best friend. _Shit._

She should have kissed her friend.

_To be continued…_


	6. To Get Me To You: Six

_Disclaimer: All recognizable _Rizzoli & Isles_ characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to Tess Gerritsen. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fanfiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended._

_Author's Note: I wish authors could favorite their own reviews. You regulars who comment on every chapter of every story I ever write are priceless! You have my profuse thanks. –dkc_

**To Get Me To You – Chapter Six**

The first time Maura met Jane's family it was overwhelming. She was unaccustomed to family gatherings, but it was more than that. The Rizzolis were loud, sarcastic and teasing. Unlike her own family, they hugged and said 'I love you' at the end of the night. It was pleasant and Maura always looked forward to spending time with them.

She couldn't figure out what she was feeling. Melancholy? They had spent nearly an entire day with Angela. Maybe Angela made her think of her own mother. Maybe she was simply lonely tonight.

Throughout their latest case Jane had flirted openly with Maura. The near kiss that the doctor had pulled away from hadn't made anything awkward between them. It was the lack of awkwardness that was actually more perplexing. Granted, Maura Isles didn't have a great deal of experience with friendships, but she knew friends didn't commonly wake up cuddling and nearly kiss.

Sitting at dinner tonight she found herself getting lost in Jane's dark eyes. She had always known her best friend to be a beautiful woman. She wasn't blind. However, she didn't know why now she couldn't prevent her gazes from lasting a second too long or refrain from touching Jane's arm when she had the opportunity.

_Those eyes, God._

Lying in her own bed, excusing herself after declining Jane's offer to drive her home, Maura's emotions were all over the map. She kept thinking of Jane and the way the detective tilted her head when she saw Maura enter the restaurant. No one had ever looked at her quite that way.

Maura rolled over in her bed and put a pillow over her head. She couldn't escape her frustration.

oOo

On the other side of town Jane was having a similarly hard time going to sleep.

They hadn't mentioned the near kiss and they hadn't been in close enough proximity for it to be a temptation again. Throughout their latest case she found herself flirting unabashedly with Maura. She didn't care who heard. This was very unlike Jane.

She had been sitting at her desk when Maura walked into the department earlier that day. She couldn't take her eyes off the doctor. The curve of her hips, the tightness of her dress in all the right places and the way she walked with an air of confidence were captivating. Frost caught her eye; he knew exactly how she was looking at Maura. She found herself blushing, returning immediately to professional mode.

When had she first noticed Maura's beauty? Maybe she had from day one.

Jane had hoped Maura might want to come over when they finished dinner. But she was also terrified of the thought. How long could Jane go without trying to kiss Maura again? While she had felt similarly about other women, she had never felt anything this strongly.

From the moment Jane decided to go to the police academy she had been fighting against the stereotypes associated with female cops. There seemed to be two assumptions about women on the force that she found equally repugnant: There were either the women who slept their way into leadership, unable to gain the higher rank through merit alone, or the women who were, well, lesbians.

Jane was a hard worker and from her first days in the academy allowed herself nothing of a personal life beyond her familial relationships. She worked extra hours, volunteered for tough assignments and never complained about the misogyny within the department. Up until her experience with Hoyt, she had never asked for a partner to be reassigned no matter his, and it was always a man, flaws. Had Vince Korsak not seen her completely broken, she never would have asked. Her pride was responsible for her one and only request of the Boston Police Department.

As hard as Jane fought against stereotypes and rumors, she did occasionally allow herself discrete sexual encounters. She would never have admitted as much to another soul. Whether it was guilt or simply an attempt to fit within the defined expectations of her by those around her, she wasn't sure, but she did go on blind dates from time to time that her mother talked her into.

It wasn't until Maura came along that she even considered the possibility of love. In recent weeks she had begun to see how easily it would be for her to fall in love with her best friend. She was actually glad Maura had backed away from their would-be kiss because she was afraid of herself. The last thing she wanted was to lose the ability to choose whether she fell for Maura or not.

At least tonight as she tossed and turned in bed she kept trying to convince herself that she had some control over how she felt for Maura; the tossing and turning clearly not evident to her as proof that she was oh so wrong.

oOo

Garrett Fairfield. Maura hadn't thought of him in years.

She knew she was in a precarious position when they arrived at the Fairfield's and Jane responded to her comment about her ex liking the finer things by saying, "yeah, he liked you." In other circumstances she might have been flattered.

Other circumstances, of course, never would have caused the friction between them this case did.

At first Maura thought Jane's anger was jealousy. The recent flirting and near kiss had the doctor hoping this meant something was developing between them and Jane was afraid Garrett held the power to tear it apart. That sort of jealousy as well as the development it would be directed at was feared at first and now she found herself wanting. She was fooling herself. This wasn't about a development between them; it was about rich versus poor. Jane's animosity was that of a blue-collar public servant watching her upper class best friend fall seamlessly back into the world Jane had no place in.

In the time they'd known each other they had never had a fight. This was a first. It took the wisdom of Vince Korsak to help Maura see that Jane needed Maura to support her, to back her.

Strangely enough it was Korsak who helped Maura understand Jane in her times of greatest confusion. For a man she was no longer partnered with, he seemed to know the detective better than anyone else. Maura had grown to appreciate him and cared for him in a fatherly way.

She backed her friend and they were okay now. They were happily drinking beer—beer!—in a bar and talking like the case hadn't nearly ripped their friendship apart.

She didn't drink very much, beer was an acquired taste she hadn't yet mastered, and she was exhausted. As they stood to leave the bar she felt Jane's hand at the small of her back. That single touch was all it took for her nerve endings to awaken. She seemed much more sensitive to her friend's hand than any other human touch.

"Do you want to come over?" Maura found herself saying as they reached their respective cars in the parking lot of the restaurant.

The lot was poorly lit, but the gold in Maura's hair was accentuated by the streetlamp.

"I...I better not," Jane looked away.

"Are we okay?" her insecurity set in. "After this case?"

"Oh, yes, of course," she placed a reassuring hand near the bend of Maura's elbow. "It's not that."

Noting how long the detective left her hand on her elbow and wondering what was preventing Jane from coming over, Maura pressed.

"If not that, what?" she bravely asked.

Whatever it was, it was enough to make Jane slump against Maura's Mercedes.

"Maur..." Jane rolled her eyes.

Joining Jane against the car, Maura's shoulder was pressing against the detective.

"What is it?" she tried again.

Jane blew out a breath, running a hand through her mess of hair.

"I'm afraid I'll kiss you, alright?" she mumbled.

This was not what Maura expected. While she had thought about their near kiss numerous times, she hadn't once worried that it might actually happen. Though of course she wanted it to happen…

"Would that be so bad?" she asked coyly, a smile on her face to insert some levity.

Jane managed a small smile before shaking her head at the thought.

"We can't."

Maura turned away for a moment to hide the clear disappointment on her face. Logically she knew why they couldn't. It was why she pulled away when they were on Jane's bed that morning after waking in such a delicate position. She needed this friendship more than anything in recent memory.

"Yes, I understand," her voice was cool, almost clinical.

"I'm sorry," Jane cringed.

"That isn't necessary," Maura said. "I will go home then."

She reached for the door handle and was stopped by the gentle hand on top of her own.

"I'm not saying ever," the detective offered Maura a sliver of hope.

One sliver of hope was all it took for them both to walk away and drive home that night with the same ridiculous smiles on their faces.

oOo

Asking Jane to go to yoga with her seemed like a reasonable request at the time Maura made it, but when she saw Jane in yoga pants and a sports bra she saw the error of her ways.

Those damn abs.

Not only did Maura notice the yoga instructor eyeing her, she noticed another person in the class noticing her as she tore her eyes away from Jane's body. There was no hiding how mesmerized she was by the lean, toned body her friend usually hid under poorly fitting suits or baggy t-shirts and sweats.

Their flirting was at an all-time high.

Maura was going to have to reconsider inviting Jane to yoga in the future. It was simply too hard to look away. And controlling her thoughts was an impossible task.

What she didn't know was how much Jane appreciated Maura from behind as she walked into the class, her yoga attire as tight as anything Jane had ever seen her friend wear. She nearly ran into the closing door because of her gripping gaze. She was also not oblivious to the doctor's eyes on her abs. She smiled slyly knowing she had achieved exactly what she set out to attain—Maura's attention.

What she hadn't set out to achieve was Maura's idea of going on a double date with the yoga instructor and his friend. Was Maura, like Jane, testing the waters by attempting to make the detective jealous? The last place Jane wanted to be was on a date with Maura _and_ Maura's date, never mind her own date.

Detective Rizzoli stewed on this until they arrived at the crime scene they'd been called to. It was easier to consider what all of this meant while Maura was fully clothed and not sweaty.

Jane stepped into cop mode, looking at the body, taking in the surroundings, and listening to Maura's findings at the scene. She launched into a rant about it always being the husband after noting the deceased's wedding ring, much to Detective Frost's dismay, and was stopped in her tracks when Maura turned her iPad toward Jane to show said woman with her very female spouse.

"Oh," Jane looked away from the iPad, back at Maura briefly and then back to the deceased.

Oh, indeed. As if trying to determine Maura's intentions in asking her on the double date with Jorge wasn't complicated enough, Jane was now beginning an investigation into a dead lesbian.

_To be continued…_


	7. To Get Me To You: Seven

_Disclaimer: All recognizable _Rizzoli & Isles_ characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to Tess Gerritsen. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fanfiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended._

_Author's Note: There was truly no way I could write this entire series without giving "I Kissed a Girl" (1x06) its own chapter. I hope you were adequately teased in the last chapter setting this up. In my own mind I see this being a pivotal episode in the development of their relationship. –dkc_

**To Get Me To You – Chapter Seven**

Jane had finished with the deceased's spouse in the interrogation room and was now making her way to the elevator bay to make a visit to the morgue. She was lost in thought, nearly running into Detective Korsak in the hall.

"Jane? You okay?" he asked, noticing how lost she appeared.

"Oh, hey Vince," she smiled, rubbing her arm without realizing it. "I didn't see you."

"Should I be worried about you, Janie?" he was concerned.

"Nah, I was just thinking about this case."

Jane Rizzoli would never in a million years allow another soul to be privy to her inner thoughts. Korsak had been her partner for long enough to realize this. However, he also had been her partner for long enough to know when certain things might be on her mind. He had noticed how close she had become to the beautiful M.E. and how quickly their friendship had turned to casual flirting. He hadn't been married as many times as he had without learning a thing or two about women. Seeing relationships that seemed to work better than their own or have something unlike their own often made them pine for those things. He couldn't help but connect the dots between their current case and Jane's seemingly adrift behavior.

"Headed down to see the Doc?" he pried.

"Yeah, I'll let you know if she has anything."

He watched Jane enter the elevator and smiled. He didn't know why Jane had shut him out after the Hoyt ordeal, but that didn't stop him from caring about his former partner all the same. He wanted her to be happy and everything he had seen told him that Dr. Maura Isles made her happy.

oOo

Maura was dead set on she and Jane going on a date with the guys from yoga. Despite all the joking about it, Jane knew she would do whatever Maura asked, even something as pointless as this double date. It was worth it to Jane as long as Maura would be there.

"Merch," Jane said more than once, the last few times mostly to herself.

Despite the doctor continuing on with her findings on the body, Jane was hung up on the fact that Maura knew about the club where this woman had been prior to being murdered. A gay bar didn't strike her as Maura's scene. Then again, she didn't let Maura tell her the details of her private escapades.

She was waiting in Maura's office for the report to take upstairs before leaving to go check out this club. She was looking around at the various items displayed on the walls. There were stories behind the items, some of them she knew, and some she didn't. This brought her back to wondering how much she didn't know about her best friend.

"I thought you were going to the club?" Maura came in wearing the black scrubs that Jane found particularly appealing. She often thought it must be morbid to like seeing a woman in attire that she only wore when conducting autopsies.

"I thought I would wait for your report," Jane stood. "I needed some quiet to wrap my head around this case."

Maura gave the detective a curious look, but didn't attempt a question that might force Jane to spill.

"Have you ever been to a gay bar?" Jane was once again looking at the masks on the wall, rubbing the scars of her hands reflexively.

"Yes," Maura sat at her desk, unworried by the question. "Is there a reason you ask?"

"Just curious," the detective was visibly anxious.

"Jane?" Maura stood. "What is it?"

Coming around her desk, the doctor leaned against it and folded her arms over her chest. She knew not to push Jane and was trying not to do so. She knew Jane well enough to know when something was bothering her. Something was definitely bothering her.

"There's so much I don't know about you," she said in a subdued voice.

Ever logic-minded, the medical examiner considered which things about herself Jane didn't know and how the detective might receive them if she did know. Taking a step toward the tall brunette, Maura placed a hand on Jane's forearm.

"All you have to do is ask."

oOo

Jane couldn't breathe. She had a clear view of the yoga instructor placing a kiss to Maura's neck. Her hackles rose. She felt sick to her stomach.

Then their eyes locked.

There was an emotion behind the dark brown set that was new to Maura. Though it could have been mere anger, it wasn't the look the doctor was accustomed to finding when her friend was angry. There was possessiveness in the look.

Maura could feel the heat rising. As Jane mentioned the time, the doctor was disappointed. Not only was she enjoying the evening, she was finding herself in need of relief. If nothing else, the yoga instructor could give her the climax her body desired and maybe, just maybe, she could stop thinking about she and Jane's near kiss for a few minutes.

Dragging Jane to the restroom, she explained the benefits of sex and even offered her friend a shaving kit. While she was desperately trying not to think of freshly shaved, long, smooth legs, she had no idea all Jane was thinking about was how much she wanted to go home with only Maura.

Despite the push-and-pull, Maura convinced Jane to take Jorge home with her. For her part, the detective was aggravated with her best friend and thought taking Jorge home might serve to make the doctor jealous. Maura's goal was simply sex. The yoga instructor would be suitable. But her thoughts remained on Jane.

As they left the restaurant, Jane and Maura's eyes met a final time. Though each woman was contemplating the role of jealousy in all of this, they stuck to the plan and took their dates to their respective homes.

oOo

Jorge had turned out to be a dud. Jane had nothing in common with him. His intentions were completely obvious. She knew what he wanted and dismissed him.

Sitting on her couch staring at her phone, the woman kept having images of Maura and the yoga instructor. His lips on her neck, her hair messy and damp with sweat. Not only was her jealousy growing, she found the images stirring up her emotions.

_Dammit, Jane. Stop this._

Her phone rang and startled her. She looked down, surprised to see it was Maura calling her.

"Shouldn't you be busy?" she answered by saying in a biting tone.

"I could say the same to you," Maura goaded. "But then again I called you and assumed you would answer."

"Yeah, we both knew Jorge and I were not meant to be," Jane relaxed, leaning further into the couch and putting her feet on the coffee table.

"You seemed pretty enthusiastic about taking him home."

"As did you," Jane countered.

There was a heavy silence between them. Neither woman was uncomfortable with silence. They both were considering in their own way how ridiculous the evening had been.

"Maur?" Jane questioned. "Let's not double date again."

The doctor sighed without saying a word.

"I don't know that I can sit through another meal where some guy's mouth is on you," Jane was honest, surprising them both.

Maura's heart was suddenly beating hard in her chest. She never thought her best friend would confess her jealousy.

"I'm sorry, Jane," her voice reflected her lament at her own behavior.

"Don't be," the detective took a noticeable breath. "Now we know."

Once again they were quiet, this time neither knowing what to say to the other. The unsaid between them was causing strain in their friendship.

"You looked beautiful tonight," Jane murmured.

The doctor's breath caught in her throat. It took her a moment to be capable of speaking.

"Thank you."

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Maura brought her hand to the flushing skin at the base of her neck.

"I wish…" she started to say before stopping herself.

"Hmm?" Jane asked.

"I shouldn't, we can't," Maura repeated what Jane had said about their near kiss.

Realizing they had been on the verge of crossing a line, Jane sighed.

"I understand."

"Goodnight, Jane," the doctor spoke softly into the phone.

"'Night."

oOo

Detective Frost had attempted to create Jane's online dating profile. Unfortunately, Maura usurped his authority on the matter. Frost knew the person to know his partner well enough for this kind of task was the M.E. and he relinquished the keyboard. Maura was thinking about that profile now after Jane blurted out that maybe she should be a lesbian.

"I wonder what kind of women we would like if we liked women," she said knowing that the 'if' was directed at Jane and not herself.

"What? Well, first of all, I would be the guy," Jane insisted.

"That's a cliché. Why would you be the guy?"

"Because."

"Because you're bossy?"

Jane reacted in faux indignation.

"So are you."

"No, I'm not," she smiled.

"Yes, you are. You're just soft and polite when you're bossing people around."

After saying it Jane found herself wondering if Maura was soft and polite in bed, too. This was a terrible thought to be having about her best friend while lying next to her on a bed. She tried to push it aside, but Maura's prodding didn't help.

"Well it's a good thing you're not my type."

"What do you mean I'm not your type? That is so rude," Jane hid behind humor.

"Well, you don't know how to relax. And you wear your shoes and your clothes to bed. And you just admitted you're bossy," Maura was trying desperately to slow her heartbeat and her out of control thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm bossy. You put my picture and profile on a gay dating site and I'm bossy. Right. After I said no by the way," Jane noticed Maura had closed her eyes and may not be listening. "What are you doing?"

"Meditating, it's too stressful to argue with you," the doctor replied.

There was some truth in Maura's words, she was meditatating and it was too frustrating to spar with Jane. What she didn't say, though, was how meditation was the only thing she could do to prevent herself from allowing the sexual tension between them to build. She knew if she didn't close her eyes and stop looking at Jane, the sparring would become more obvious flirting and she didn't trust herself, especially in Jane's bed, to leave it there.

Maura's truth was that she didn't trust herself with her best friend.

She could sense Jane's eyes no longer on her. This helped her relax, too. The meditation was helping. She felt light and calm. So light and calm she fell asleep _in_ Jane's bed _with_ Jane.

oOo

"Hey," Jane smiled when she opened the door to the take-out carrying doctor. "Did we have dinner plans?"

"We did not. Do you mind?" Maura smiled knowing the answer.

Jane nodded for the doctor to come in, closing the door behind her. She was frankly surprised to see her friend. It hadn't exactly been awkward between them in the lab when Jane had asked Maura to swab her neck for DNA, but there had been something unsaid.

"I assume the case was wrapped up?" Maura asked while busying herself with plates.

"Aside from the paperwork, yeah."

"Good," she was short.

The M.E. had her back turned and still Jane caught the disappointment in her friend's tone. She couldn't be disappointed they had found a murderer. So what was it?

"What is it, Maur?" Jane walked up behind the doctor and waited.

"Was she surprised you led her on?" came the quiet question.

There it was. Maura was bothered by the DNA test. What Jane couldn't quite decide was whether her friend was bothered with how the detective had blatantly used her sexuality to get the sample or that a woman's mouth other than her own had left the DNA sample.

Maura said she wasn't going to ask. She said it partially in jest, but she regretted it all the same. She couldn't stop thinking about how a suspect's mouth ended up on Jane's neck. In her mind it had to have been a hot and heavy kiss that migrated to the detective's neck. She kept imagining how it might have unfolded and as she did her jealousy kept building.

"I was doing my job," she tested the doctor.

"Is that all?" Maura placed loaded plates on the counter, avoiding eye contact.

The pieces were falling into place. Jane now realized why it bothered Maura so much. It wasn't how Jane had used her sexuality. It was exactly what Jane had experienced watching the yoga instructor kissing Maura's neck at dinner. Maura was jealous.

Not allowing herself the time to analyze why Maura would feel this way after having pulled away from their near kiss, Jane stepped closer to the doctor and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Maura..." she rasped.

"Let's eat," she was tightly gripping the counter.

"Maur..." Jane wasn't budging.

Turning around as means to shrug off Jane's touch, she was shocked when the detective leaned down and kissed her. The kiss was soft, restrained. But the press of lips ignited feelings both women had been working hard to suppress in recent weeks. Despite those feelings, neither woman pushed for more.

"Now we can eat," Jane smirked.

oOo

"No way!" Jane did a spit take at Maura's story.

She had no idea there were so many terrible pickup lines and apparently Maura got them all while working as a waitress on their undercover assignment. She couldn't believe some of them. And she thought her night of dates was bad.

"It wasn't the least bit flattering," Maura smiled before drinking from her wine glass.

"I can't fault her taste," Jane referred to a pickup artist at Merch that Maura was now telling her about.

Maura found herself blushing and fiddling with her watch to avoid eye contact. They had neither spoke of the kiss nor repeated it. Dinner had been relaxing and not the least bit awkward.

"I should get going," Maura placed her wine glass on the coffee table.

"You're welcome to stay," Jane offered.

Following Maura toward the entranceway, she knew her answer.

"Meet me for yoga in the morning," the doctor said while stepping into her shoes.

"Really?" Jane whined.

"After leading on and then dismissing our instructor, I can't face it alone," she made her case.

"Fine," the detective gave in quickly. "Only for you."

Maura offered Jane a megawatt smile before opening the door.

"Goodnight, Jane," she waved over her shoulder.

"'Night," Jane grinned.

The detective closed the door and leaned against it for strength. Had she really kissed her best friend? She smiled at the thought. Little did she know, downstairs starting up her car was that very best friend, her hands shaking slightly as she relived the kiss in her mind. Maura, too, had a smile on her face.

_To be continued…_


	8. To Get Me To You: Eight

_Disclaimer: All recognizable _Rizzoli & Isles_ characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to Tess Gerritsen. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fanfiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended._

_Author's Note: As much as I think "I Kissed a Girl" was a breakthrough in the relationship of Jane and Maura, it was "I'm Your Boogie Man" (1x08) that remains in my mind as the moment in canon when everything was very clear about who they are to each other. Maybe you don't agree with me, maybe you do. In any event, you'll see bits of that episode here. Thank you, as always, for your lovely reviews. –dkc_

**To Get Me To You – Chapter Eight**

Lying in bed, Jane couldn't stop thinking about Maura's hands. She realized early in their friendship that the doctor's touch held a power over her. A simple touch calmed her immediately. As months passed and they became more comfortable with one another, Maura's touch did something else to Jane, too. It was exhilarating and addicting. She cherished every casual touch in a way she knew she shouldn't from her best friend.

They had been sitting in the conference room with both their teams today attempting to make sense of an ongoing investigation and Jane found herself contemplating Maura's hands. As the doctor took notes, Jane couldn't tear her eyes away. She remembered the first time she felt the softness of those very hands. She had offered her hand to the doctor to shake, she recalled. That handshake had the perfect combination of softness and firmness. How did the doctor accomplish that?

Remembering how she had blushed when Maura caught her staring, Jane wondered what there had been to be embarrassed about. She also wondered what her friend had made of it. The M.E., as brilliant as she is, couldn't read Jane's thoughts. She had no idea what had caused the detective to stare.

What had it been? The detective couldn't place it. Her best friend was constantly on her mind anymore, but this was far more specific. It had been the way the doctor used her forefinger to trace her notepad. Precision and delicacy is how Jane saw it. Her ever-wandering mind soon wondered if a hand could be as gentle and measured with something as insignificant as that notebook, how might it do tracing the distinct planes of Jane's body?

The question caused the brunette to squirm under the covers.

_Dammit._

oOo

Somehow Friday nights being reserved for only Jane had become Friday plus Saturday morning coffee after a run. Their routine was certainly not objectionable. She enjoyed every minute she spent with Jane. This particular Friday, though, had been different. Jane had been different.

Were they going to talk about what had transpired between them? They hadn't mentioned the kiss, they hadn't repeated the kiss and strangely, it didn't feel like they were avoiding it either. It was simply there—hanging in the space they shared.

What did it all mean? A kiss could mean so many things. This was Jane, her Jane. Kissing Jane wasn't like kissing anyone else.

They had spent their Friday evening watching a documentary on PBS. Maura knew something was off when Jane didn't complain about the choice of entertainment. Even if she liked it, Jane often complained when Maura chose a documentary.

She may not have understood what the kiss meant, but she knew what the strangeness with Jane didn't mean. Jane didn't regret it. And neither did Maura, for that matter. It was clear they didn't know how to go forward.

For instance, if she wanted to go on a date, she supposed Saturday nights would be ideal. With the exception of her now former yoga instructor, Maura hadn't been on a date in over a month. She wasn't actively dating and she wasn't entertaining the idea with any of the men she met. Did the kiss mean she shouldn't date? Did the kiss mean there was hope on the horizon for she and Jane to be something more than best friends? She couldn't fathom Jane wanting that. She honestly expected Jane to run.

The doctor sighed.

oOo

Dr. Maura Isles was drinking a cup of coffee alone in the Division One Cafe, looking over the newspaper, when the Rizzoli matriarch walked in. Ever friendly, Angela said hello to several beat cops before arriving at Maura's table.

"Good morning, Maura," she said as she sat down without invitation.

"Angela," she moved the paper aside. "It's Jane's off day, are you here to see Frankie?"

"No, honey, I'm here to see you."

"Me? Why?" she was surprised and somewhat confused.

"Am I disturbing you?" Angela misread Maura's surprise for annoyance.

"Of course not!" she smiled. "I am surprised you would stop by the station to see me."

"I wanted to speak to you alone," Angela lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Without Jane."

"Oh," Maura began to worry.

"Do you know if she's okay?" Angela looked truly concerned.

"What do you mean? I spoke to her this morning and she seemed in a pleasant mood."

"I don't mean this morning," she explained. "Lately I have noticed less and less interest from her when I offer dating suggestions."

Maura nearly choked on her coffee. Had she not spent the previous evening thinking about dating herself, she might not have been so flabbergasted. Oh, this was not at all what she expected.

"Since I hosted a dinner for she and Joey she is even more abrasive when I attempt to set her up," Angela's brow furrowed. "Has she said anything to you?"

Dr. Isles had never understood the phrase 'a loaded question' until this moment. No, Jane hadn't mentioned dating and yes, it could be because she was struggling with the concept of wanting to date her best friend.

"She hasn't mentioned dating," Maura was nothing but honest. _She hasn't mentioned dating me..._

"I know she and Joey were in different places and I understand that. I don't want her to give up," Angela was genuinely hopeful for Jane's happiness.

Maura couldn't help but hope Jane wouldn't give up, too. It wasn't out of the question that she and Jane could date. Right?

The doctor sighed at her foolishness. One kiss does not mean dating would be a good idea.

"I don't think she has given up," Maura said.

I hope she won't give up.

oOo

Signing off on a stack of autopsy reports and death certificates, Maura welcomed the distraction of an incoming text.

_Soooo bored._

She smiled. Only Jane could find a day off to be a struggle.

_Care to approve this week's reports? I've now signed several dozen._ She hit send.

Leaning back in her chair she couldn't help the anticipation from taking hold as she awaited Jane's response, a feeling that was new and confusing.

_Something tells me they'd catch on to your name written in my scribbles. _

Trying to come up with a response that didn't point out how terrible Jane's handwriting was, the doctor was saved that task by another text appearing on her phone.

_But if it meant being there with you..._

The sudden thumping of her heart in her ears wasn't becoming any less startling in moments like these. When did Jane's words start doing this to her?

_You must be really bored! :-) _Maura responded as calmly as possible.

_Emoticons! Since when do you use them?_

This made Maura chuckle. Jane had teased her relentlessly about her formal tone via text and how she refused to use abbreviations.

_I am full of surprises. _

Her palms were sweating now knowing fully well she was being unusually flirtatious.

_Is that so, Dr. Isles?_

_Try me._ She knew she was pushing boundaries here and it could backfire.

_Maura... _

_Yes, Detective?_

Maura knew how Jane responded when she was called by her title by the doctor in a nonprofessional setting. She could imagine vividly the smirk on Jane's face as they spoke.

_Is it crazy that I think about you?_

The detective was full of surprises, too.

_I think about you, too. _

_I don't think you're hearing me. _

Maura wanted Jane to be perfectly clear that she understood what they were talking about.

_I think about your lips._ _Did I hear you correctly?_

The doctor was now anxious and worked up. The delay in response from Jane made her worry she had made a false assumption and misunderstood what the detective was saying.

_Yes. God, Maur. What are we doing?_

If only the genius doctor knew the answer. They were on a dangerous path that could blow up everything they had built. On the other hand, both seemed to want whatever this was that happened to be transpiring between them to continue. What they didn't know is how or to what extent.

_What it is or isn't, we are in this together. You and me, Jane. _

They would survive much together in coming days.

oOo

Jane's nightmares worried Maura.

Dark circles, delayed responses, these were the obvious signs of sleep deprivation. Having been with Jane on many nights when she woke from one of these nasty nightmares, Maura worried that she hadn't been perceptive and could have been more supportive.

She had always used the time doing an autopsy to work through the day's problems. In between each of the precise tasks she was responsible for as the pathologist, she could return to being simply Maura. And being Maura rather than Dr. Isles meant she could worry about Jane.

Maura might have missed it had her mind not been preoccupied with Jane to begin with.

Hoyt.

The body offered the clues.

She broke several traffic laws as she drove from the morgue to Jane's apartment. She found herself furious. Charles Hoyt had done his damage on Jane. He had hurt her in ways that nobody but Jane knew. And he was back. Or, more likely, he had a new apprentice.

Tears were welling in her eyes. She was angry and she was scared.

As she hurried up the steps of Jane's apartment building she suddenly realized she hadn't said goodbye to Detective Frost. As soon as they came to the conclusion that Hoyt's signature was on the body, she had hurried to the locker room to change out of her scrubs and then rushed out of the BPD.

She knocked persistently on Jane's door. Every second that passed between her knocking and Jane answering the door elevated her blood pressure and increased her fear.

"Jane!" Maura threw her arms around the unsuspecting brunette the moment the door swung open.

"Uh…" Jane was stunned. "Hi?"

When the doctor released her, Jane knew something was wrong. Something was very wrong. What she had woken to in the dark, the flare outside her apartment, wasn't a coincidence.

Maura's eyes told her exactly how bad it was.

"I think it's Hoyt," Maura managed to say.

Nodding, Jane walked into her small kitchen and slumped against her counter.

Maura had no idea what to say. She had brought all of her research, the case file and the autopsy report, but she had abandoned all of that. She couldn't step back into her role as the Chief Medical Examiner. Her heart was solely concerned with Jane.

"Jane…" she spoke with an emotion-laden quality in her voice.

Jane shook her head as the tears began to stain her beautiful, stoic cheeks. She despised the hold Hoyt continued to have on her. It made her feel out of control and vulnerable, two things generally uncharacteristic of her.

Taking Jane's arm, Maura leaned in and rested her head on a slumping shoulder. Her own tears were falling freely. She loved this woman.

"God, look at us," Jane wiped away her tears and attempted to portray strength and bravery in the face of the only threat that has ever truly scared her. "Let me grab the tissues."

Leaving Maura at the counter, she walked into the living room and grabbed a box of tissues. She pulled a tissue out of the box, dabbed her own tears, and grabbed another tissue before setting the box on the counter. As the doctor reached for the box, Jane placed a hand on her forearm.

"Here," she said, pressing the tissue gently to Maura's cheeks, wiping the tears from below her eyes down to where they dripped off her chin.

When their eyes met, Jane still pressing the tissue to Maura's cheek, the doctor's perfectly manicured hand came up to touch Jane's stalled hand. Giving a squeeze to the side of Jane's hand, she refused to look away.

"I'm scared, Maur," Jane choked.

"I know, honey, I know," Maura stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Jane.

They stood that way for an indeterminate time, neither saying a word nor even crying. Both women were lost in their own thoughts and fears, both women savoring this moment of holding on to their greatest solace in this world.

Eventually they would have to face the case before them. Eventually Maura would force Jane to take the sleeping pill she had brought with her for the detective. Eventually she would call Detective Frost to stand guard.

For now, solace.

oOo

Maura stood leaning against the doorjamb of Jane's bedroom. She followed Jane's breathing. Giving the woman a sedative was a good idea. Without the help of pharmaceuticals, the detective wouldn't have slept at all.

The Glock was on the coffee table. Could the doctor shoot someone if she had to? If it were to protect Jane, she could. There was nothing she wouldn't do for her friend.

_Oh, Jane. _

Dr. Isles was exhausted. From the moment she discovered the Hoyt connection, her body had been driven by adrenaline and fear. But she didn't care. Her number one concern was Jane's safety.

It made her so angry that Hoyt could threaten Jane again. It wasn't enough that he had left her with the scars of his particular brand of sadism; he wanted to kill Jane, too.

She hadn't noticed the tears beginning to stream down her face until they dropped on to her folded arms. She wiped them quickly away, ashamed that she was crying. If Jane could see her right now she would certainly say something bitingly sarcastic and wrap Maura in a hug. The doctor would love to feel Jane's arms around her right now.

She heard her phone chime from the living room and closed the bedroom door.

Detective Frost was on the street and warned her so she wouldn't panic when he came up. Barry was a kind, thoughtful man.

"Dr. Isles," he offered a worried nod when she opened the door to him.

"At 3 a.m., you must call me Maura," she said.

Barry Frost had a charming smile. When he smiled at her she felt safe for the first time since she arrived a few hours before. Sitting on the couch next to him, she found herself appreciating him more than ever before.

"Is Jane—?" he looked around the space.

"I gave her a sedative. She's been asleep for an hour," Maura answered.

Looking down at the various files on the coffee table, he raised an eyebrow at the gun sitting nearest the doctor.

"Jane showed me how to…" she started. How to what? Shoot? Kill a deranged serial killer? "It's loaded."

He reached for the weapon, removing the magazine and emptying the chamber. He patted his holster as a way of reassuring her that she was safe now.

"God, I hate this," the doctor sighed.

"It's going to be okay. Jane is going to be fine."

He placed a hesitant hand on her forearm. She couldn't help thinking that he was a gentle man.

"You think it's him?" Frost asked, his attention turning to the papers on the table.

"I can't confirm it," she knew fully well it was Hoyt.

The doctor stifled a yawn. She was exhausted.

"Why don't you try to sleep? We can walk through this in a couple of hours," Frost kindly offered.

He could see her reticence at leaving the investigation even for two hours.

"I'll keep an eye on things."

She smiled tiredly at Frost, standing and stretching her stiff limbs.

"Knock if you need me? I'm a light sleeper. It's the door at the end of the hall."

"Of course," he stood to watch her walk away.

As the detective sat on the couch, skimming each of the documents, he didn't for a moment think that Maura had gone to lie down anywhere other than with Jane.

_To be continued…_


	9. To Get Me To You: Nine

_Disclaimer: All recognizable _Rizzoli & Isles_ characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to Tess Gerritsen. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fanfiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended._

_Author's Note: And the fallout from "I'm Your Boogie Man" (1x08)… I'm still debating if I let you in on the overall arc that I see for the first season and what it meant to seasons 2, 3 and now 4 or if I just bring this all to the end of season 1 with a peek into season 2 and leave it there. In any event, it's still a work in progress. I know almost as little as you! ;) –dkc_

**To Get Me To You – Chapter Nine**

Jane had fucked up.

She slammed a scarred hand on her steering wheel almost as hard as she had slammed the car door when she got in.

What was she going to say to Maura? She had to tell her the truth.

It was a kiss, just a kiss, right?

She could feel the tears escaping past her eyelids and she did nothing to stop them. She placed her forehead on her arms over the steering wheel as she let out a strangled sob. The last several weeks had been too overwhelming for her. Hoyt's reappearance in her life was the tipping point. And she couldn't use that as an excuse for her behavior. Not after Maura had been nothing but wonderful and supportive.

Maura.

Thinking about the doctor brought on another onslaught of anger and shame. Jane was angry with herself for behaving as she had on the heels of Maura's selflessness.

Maura Isles had walked into that prison and faced down Charles Hoyt with an unbelievable strength. She had done it for Jane. She had done it to protect Jane from having to face the man who haunted her waking and sleeping mind. And she had done it without Jane having to ask. The doctor had insisted. That confrontation with Hoyt hadn't been without a cost, either. Jane could still see the hurt and disgust on Maura's face as she compared her childhood with that of Charles Hoyt. Maura was nothing like the monster that had inflicted the pain on Jane that she still felt anytime she used her hands extensively or when the weather suddenly changed. Maura was the most caring, compassionate woman Jane had ever met. She was quirky, yes, and the detective had told her as much, but she was not Hoyt.

How had Jane repaid that caring compassionate, woman for confronting her personal boogey man? By going to dinner with Special Agent Gabriel Dean.

Finally putting the car into gear, Jane Rizzoli took a deep breath and pulled into traffic. She pointed her car in the direction of the only place she should have been tonight.

oOo

When Maura heard a soft knock on her door at eleven, she was suddenly quite worried. She wasn't expecting anyone, not even Jane who she knew to be busy. Standing from the spot on the couch where she had been lounging while reading a medical journal, she was suddenly self-conscious about being in her silk pajamas.

"Jane?" she opened the door to find her best friend with puffy red eyes and fidgety hands. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Can I come in?" Jane asked.

"Of course," Maura stepped aside, touching the detective's forearm gently as she walked past. "I thought you had gone to dinner with Gabriel?"

"I did," she ran her hands through her mess of hair, cringing, before turning back around to look at Maura.

"In that?" the doctor smirked.

Jane looked down and remembered she had changed her clothes at home when she was fretting about how to talk to Maura. She was now in blue running shorts and a Red Sox t-shirt.

"I went home and changed."

"Did something happen with the case?" Maura was quite concerned.

"No," Jane shook her head. She assured the doctor things were as they had been earlier that evening—Frankie was safe, Hoyt's latest threat halted.

"Let's sit down and you can tell me what's going on then," the shorter woman's bare feet padding through lush carpet made Jane suddenly sad.

"Maur..." Jane was choking on emotion once again. "I'm sorry. I fucked up and I'm so sorry."

Now Maura was extremely confused. Her brow furrowed as she thought over the possibilities in her mind. What could Jane have done?

"You're going to have to give me more information," she said. "I'm afraid I don't have any idea what you're talking about. "

Sitting next to Jane on the couch with a foot separating them, the doctor turned her hips to face Jane and placed her arm on the back of the couch.

"I know you said you didn't mind if I went to dinner with him. When we wrapped up at my apartment and I called you, I didn't tell you he'd asked me to dinner to seek your permission or your—" she didn't say jealousy, but it was what she was thinking. "I should have come here, Maur. I should have been here with you."

Watching her friend's inner turmoil play out in her facial expressions was causing Maura pain. She still didn't understand why Jane was torn up.

"Jane, you didn't have to be here—" she was abruptly cut off.

"I kissed him!" Jane blurted.

There was a moment of clarity, suddenly. Now Maura understood why Jane mentioned the dinner invitation.

"Oh," she managed to respond.

Unable to determine exactly why, Maura felt hurt. Was it betrayal? It couldn't be. She and Jane were only friends. Weren't they? Was it jealousy? How could she be jealous of something she too had done? Either what she and Jane had shared had been more than a kiss or what happened with Dean had been. Was that the reason for her heartache?

"Did you..." she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"No," Jane's eyes were wide and she moved closer, almost imperceptibly. "One kiss."

"Okay," the doctor said coolly.

Whatever emotions coursed through Maura, on the outside she appeared quite calm.

"I'm sorry, Maura. I don't know what the hell I was thinking," Jane stared at her hands.

The problem with not talking about what their kiss and all of the subsequent flirting had meant was that without any clear idea of what was transpiring between them, neither knew if kissing other people was a big deal or not. They may not have known whether it was, but Jane's immediate and emotional reaction to kissing Dean spoke to her truth: She felt as if she had betrayed Maura and that was a very big deal.

"We never said..." Maura stopped and started over. "Who we are to one another..." she stopped again when faced with the actuality that she didn't know how to talk about any of this. "Were you trying to make me jealous?"

Her question caused Jane's eyes to snap up, filled with surprise and a whole new emotion the doctor couldn't ascertain.

"That's not why I kissed him," Jane answered.

"Why did you kiss him?" the doctor's bravery here was a shock to even her.

Jane didn't have an answer to this question. She believed Dean to be a good man, but that certainly wasn't why.

"I don't know," she said.

"Did you want to sleep with him?" Maura's chest tightened as she awaited the answer.

"No!" Jane's answer was immediate.

Relief came over the doctor, relief that spoke to the underlying jealousy she felt as well as her own wants and needs where Jane was concerned. It was all very confusing.

"You'll have to forgive my confusion," Maura spoke. "You kissed him, nothing more and you feel the need to apologize to me?"

"God, Maura, for a genius you can be awfully dense sometimes," Jane slumped.

"Did you think about me when you were kissing him?" Maura might be socially awkward sometimes, but about this she certainly was not dense.

Jane's eyes met Maura's, though soon made their way to glossy lips. When since she had first kissed those lips had she not thought about kissing them again?

"There wasn't time to think," Jane resorted to denial. Her self-protection mechanism wasn't able to tell good from bad at this point. If she told Maura yes, what would that mean?

Frustrated by the conversation at hand, the pajama-clad brunette stood from her place on the couch.

"If you are not going to be honest with me, I'm going to need a glass of wine to continue listening," she said in a disappointed tone.

"Wait," Jane grabbed her hand, standing to look her in the eye.

"Yes, okay? I am always thinking about you. And when I kissed him I found myself comparing it to kissing you and it didn't compare. Then I left, I told him I wasn't ready for someone like him. Not when I have you in the back of my mind—this constant wonder of whether we could ever be more than friends. I felt like I'd betrayed you, Maur, like I'd blown it and it was the worst thing I've felt in a long time. Maybe ever and I—"

Jane's monologue was brought to an unexpected stop by Maura's lips pressing firmly against her own. Bringing her hands up to frame the detective's face, Maura's fingers were tangling in out of control raven hair.

Unlike their first kiss, this was heated and both women began pressing for more from the outset. Maura's tongue slipped past Jane's lips causing the detective to moan. Scarred hands were on curvy hips and then gripping tightly to the doctor's silk-clad sides just beneath shoulder blades. When Jane's tongue took control and fought its way into the deepest spaces of the doctor's mouth, Maura grabbed Jane by the shoulders to pull their bodies flush against one another.

"Oh, God," Jane moaned, breaking the kiss. Feeling all of Maura's curves against her was rapidly turning her on.

The taller woman tilted her head to the side, allowing the M.E. to trail kisses along her neck. Her long arms found hips again and traveled under the silk top. Touching the perfectly smooth and soft skin at Maura's sides, Jane knew her friend was liking her touch by the way her lips gave way to teeth. The delicious pain where the doctor bit caused Jane to groan.

"Jane," Maura's voice was sultry, bringing the detective's lips back to her own for another scorching kiss.

"Jane, please," she said again when their mouths broke for breath, pleading for them to slow down.

Somehow knowing what Maura's objection was, Jane dropped her forehead to the shorter woman's shoulder.

"We can't do this again and then not talk about it," she spoke softly, playing with the curly tendrils underneath Jane's messy mane.

"You're right," Jane mumbled.

Lifting her head to look at her best friend, she knew they had to talk about this. It would be too easy to dismiss or destroy if they weren't on the same page. Even more dangerous would be the fate of whatever this was if it became casual and meaningless.

"I need that glass of wine," Maura smiled.

oOo

Sitting against Maura's headboard, the doctor held her nearly empty glass of wine with Jane's arm around her.

"I don't know how we make this work, Maur," Jane admitted. "I enjoy being near you, flirting with you, kissing you, but I wouldn't know the first thing about being with you."

Placing her glass on the nightstand, Maura slipped down, pulling Jane with her. They faced one another with nowhere to hide from the other prying soul.

"When you need something who do you call?" the doctor asked.

"You long before Ma," Jane replied.

"With whom do you spend the majority of your free time?" Maura continued on this path.

"You."

"Who knows most of your secrets?" she asked.

"You, but Maur those are things any best friend would—" she was stopped by a finger placed to her lips.

"In the last two months, when you have looked at me, how often have your eyes wandered to my lips or your mind to the thought of kissing me?"

"Um..." Jane's voice was raspy. "Quite a bit?"

"And when we almost kissed that time how badly did you want it?" Maura's pupils were growing.

Jane couldn't find words to respond. Her lips parted but no sound escaped.

"Since we kissed how often did you think about if we had gone on?" Maura hummed.

"Maura," Jane pushed back. "Want isn't the problem."

At this Maura grinned.

"My point is that if we were merely best friends that want wouldn't exist. Don't you think wanting someone might be important to being with them?" Maura's eyes weren't going to let Jane out of this. Her emerald gaze was convincing.

"You remember when I asked you if you ever had a best friend?" Jane said.

"You asked me if I would tell you if I was a cyborg," the doctor's smile told Jane it was a good memory.

"I had my brothers. I always hung out with the guys. Friendships with the girls my age never worked and I never felt like I could be myself. Even my girl cousins were a mystery to me. Honestly, I thought after the first few times you and I had lunch you would find me off-putting and we would go back to being colleagues," Jane sighed. "I never imagined we would even friends."

"I sense a 'but' coming…" Maura took Jane's closest hand and entwined their fingers.

"But I liked you, I mean, as a friend," she shook her head knowing she was saying it all wrong. "I wanted to be your friend, of course, I also was captivated—drawn to you in ways that scared me. Scare me."

Maura had rarely heard and felt Jane's honesty like this. She suspected that Jane had never let someone in the way she was in this moment with the M.E.

"You don't think I'm scared, too?" Maura used a finger to tilt Jane's discomfited head back up to meet her eyes. "If I were to bungle this, I would be out the only true friend I have ever had."

For the first time Jane realized how much they truly were in this together.

They didn't arrive at a plan or put a name to what was happening between them. They had acknowledged both the exhilaration of it and the enormous weight of it possibly going wrong. Speaking for several hours while lying exactly like that in Maura's bed, never breaking eye contact, the two women were able to fall asleep thinking of one another and not worrying themselves sick about what it all meant.

_To be continued…_


	10. To Get Me To You: Ten

_Disclaimer: All recognizable _Rizzoli & Isles_ characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to Tess Gerritsen. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fanfiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended._

_Author's Note: More of the fallout from "I'm Your Boogie Man" (1x08)… And introducing themes from "The Beast In Me" (1x09). Relying heavily on canon is essential for this story. I am indebted to Detective Marx who graciously offered input on how to proceed with this story. –dkc_

**To Get Me To You – Chapter Ten**

The sudden movement of the bed is what woke Maura. She was beginning to orient herself when thrashing forced the mattress against her nightstand, sending her abandoned wine glass crashing to the floor.

Jane, she thought as her heart pounded. The detective shot up at the sound of the shattering glass and appeared terrified. She wasn't fully awake as she rummaged through the items on the bedside table next to her looking for what Maura assumed was her sidearm.

"Jane, it's okay," she whispered while gently touching her friend's shoulder. "It was a nightmare. I am right here."

The scared woman shuddered at the touch.

Not taking another moment to so much as turn on the lamp, Maura moved closer and hoped her proximity would help.

"There is nothing to be afraid of," she hummed.

Jane seemed to be calming though tears were now lightly gracing her cheeks. When she looked at Maura there was finally the acknowledgment of reality. Looking around she took in her surroundings as well as her safety.

"Was that glass breaking?" Jane's voice was raw.

"It was my wineglass. It's fine," Maura explained.

Jane hid her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

Putting her arm around Jane's trembling shoulders, Maura shook her head as if to say no apology was necessary and the glass was inconsequential.

"I hate this," the broken, raspy voice croaked, giving way to sobs.

"Oh, Jane," Maura nearly fell apart, too.

Placing another arm around her friend, the doctor did all she could to keep from sobbing alongside Jane as she held her body tight against her.

Unable to do anything until the sobs subsided, Maura's busy mind wandered. What was it Hemingway said about the night? That night was never the same as the day, day: that what happened in the darkness of night could never be understood in the light of day. She felt this way about Jane's nightmares. Her medical mind knew the science of it; she knew the pathos of PTSD. What she knew in the light of day never changed the emotional toll of these dark moments.

"Maur?" Jane's eyes were on the tears now marring the doctor's cheeks.

Rolling her eyes at her own tears, Maura reached to wipe them away, but was stopped by the detective 's firm grasp on her wrist. She looked at Jane as a palpable friction grew. Her raised eyebrow did the speaking for her and its response came via lips on hers. A fierce kiss ensued. The grasp of Maura's wrist released to allow strong hands to tangle in her loose light brown hair.

"Oh," the doctor gasped at the feeling of Jane's hands cupping her ass, all but guiding Maura into her lap.

Straddling her friend, Maura abandoned caution and allowed Jane to lead the way. She reveled in the feelings coursing through her. Her hands held to the firm jaw that was the very symbol of stoicism. Her thumbs grazed Jane's ears as she pressed her tongue further into the woman's mouth.

Maura Isles lost her ability to breathe when she felt two determined sets of fingers go to work on the top button of her silk pajama top. She was unashamed of the sudden closing of her thighs and obvious pertness of her nipples.

The scientist in her should have considered that what was happening might be a symptom of her best friend's undiagnosed PTSD. Her logical mind knew that Jane could simply need to feel anything but the fear and terror that woke her from sleep. But the woman in her, the human with human needs and desires, wanted this. She wanted Jane desperately. And she hoped that for Jane the desire was deeply rooted, not merely a distraction.

When the final button was undone, the two sides of her top fell open to reveal her breasts. Their kiss was broken so that the woman whose hands had done the work could see what she had exposed.

In the darkness, Maura could barely see how Jane's pupils dilated to engulf her irises. She could, however, make out the subtle movement of her friend's tongue, the tip darting out briefly.

"Jane."

Her voice was sultry, thick with arousal. Masked by the more obvious emotions, her fear wreaked havoc on her mind. What if Jane changed her mind? Her fears were tossed aside at the sensation of scarred yet gentle hands cupping her breasts. She should not have been surprised to find those hands so gentle.

Looking at one another once again, their eyes were locked in a silent conversation. Where one set said they could stop now, the other said they could go on. Reversing roles, dark brown orbs said they could go back to sleep and forget this had happened. Hazel eyes said there would be no forgetting the feeling of this moment.

The hands holding her breasts released causing Maura to assume Jane had decided against going further. She was mistaken. The detective gripped the bottom of her shirt and pulled it quickly over her head making a mess of raven curls. They had arrived at this place where both were bare-chested, without bras and exposed. The doctor shrugged off her open pajama top with a seemingly practiced wiggle of her shoulders. The slight movement drew Jane's eyes lower. The movement of perfectly proportioned and perky breasts mesmerized her.

"Oh," came Jane's gravelly moan.

Doctor's hands were skilled hands. Maura's were no exception. Fingers together, palms flat against Jane's breasts, she slid her hands up and down. Fingers parted with precision, trapping and teasing hardened nipples.

Jane was beyond aroused. She wove her hands in Maura's hair, bringing their mouths together once again. When the woman atop her dropped her hands, she was desperate to regain that touch. Something better came when the doctor arched her back. Their chests pressed together in a delicious manner, nipples finding needed pressure against skin and equally hard nipples. The detective's moan was stifled by their fierce kiss.

Her friend's hands firm on the fronts of her hipbones, Jane couldn't hide the involuntary thrust of her pelvis. Knowing the tilt had brought their cores dangerously close; she felt a rush of heat and wetness to her nether lips.

She was becoming terrified. Her movements became rigid, her eyes moist with new emotions.

"It's okay," she heard the words whispered near her ear, but was unable to hold off the tears.

The detective tried to maintain control. She clenched her teeth and refused to look at the concerned eyes on her. She dropped her hands to Maura's shoulders, tracing patterns understood only by her subconscious. Then the floodgates opened.

"Come here," Maura pulled her in close.

Jane could not believe her timing. The woman she had been pining after was half naked and straddling her, yet she stiffened and cried uncontrollably.

"God," Jane choked on the words. "I didn't mean for this—"

Maura stopped her with a gentle kiss before swinging her leg over and gesturing for Jane to lie down. Keeping her arms wrapped around Jane, she reached for the blanket and covered their bare upper bodies.

"It's going to be alright," she soothed. "I'm not going anywhere."

The outwardly tough detective felt more weak and fragile in this moment than she ever had, but she believed her best friend's words. She thanked God that Maura understood this for what it was rather than rejection. She thanked God for this beautiful, brilliant woman who would do anything for her without hesitation. She thanked God for this woman she loved. Yes, loved.

Jane's tears dried and her body surrendered. She was asleep against Maura's bare chest, in her tender embrace.

Maura sighed. The adrenaline of their middle of the night activity wore off slowing and exhaustion set in. She kept her arms tight around the woman she cared for more than anyone she had ever known. It was becoming rapidly clear to the medical examiner that she was either falling in love with her best friend or had fallen already.

oOo

They hadn't talked about the long night when daylight arrived far too early, as did a call from dispatch. Jane arrived on the scene in a terrible mood, but attempted to lighten up by teasing Maura about her brightly colored dress. It seemed ridiculous, joking about clothes at a crime scene where a man had been murdered with what appeared to be a dumbbell. Better to joke about Maura's close than the poor guy whose fate was decided in what must have been ridiculous circumstances.

"Frost, you stay here until the body is transported, I'll meet you and him back at the lab," Jane instructed in a gruff tone.

"See ya, Maur," she said to the M.E. before walking away.

The doctor's eyes followed Jane's path to the car before returning her attention to the body.

"Is she okay" Detective Frost asked.

"Jane? Yes," Maura chose not to elaborate.

"She seems a bit off is all," he shrugged his shoulders. "It's totally understandable, I mean. If it was me I'd have taken a day."

Maura thought about how crazy it would have made the detective to be at home, especially after her latest encounter with Hoyt.

"She needs time," the doctor said. "Time and uninterrupted sleep."

Frost chose not to comment on the sleep matter. He didn't have to wonder if Maura had intimate knowledge of Jane's sleep patterns.

"She's lucky to have you, Doc," he smiled as he walked over to the police tape and ducked under it.

_I'm the lucky one_, Maura thought.

oOo

Having dozed off reading, Maura was quite startled when her phone chimed. The clock on her nightstand read 2:46.

_Suspect in booking_, the text read.

She thought through what she knew of arrest procedure before responding.

_Interrogation now?_ she asked.

It took a minute for the detective's response, enough time for Maura to put her book away and turn off the lamp.

_Will proceed at 9. Should be easy. The dipshit had the matching dumbbell. Done for tonight. Going home. _

The doctor couldn't help but feel disappointed that Jane was going to her own home to sleep.

_Need clean clothes._ Jane explained before Maura could reply.

_Pack some to bring over next time. _

Maura questioned if Jane would find this pushy. She was endlessly worried about forcing Jane into doing or feeling anything she wasn't ready for. Having clothes at Maura's house was relatively new.

_Any other requests?_ she could almost hear the sarcasm in Jane's question despite the silence of her empty bedroom.

_Oh, I have many. ;-)_

The doctor smiled as she waited out the detective.

_Teasing in the middle of the night? You, doctor, are on your game. _

_You have no idea_, she flirted. You've only seen part of my game.

Maura wasn't usually good at innuendo. She was naturally a blunt person. However, she was successful in making them both think of her half naked the night before.

Sitting at her desk, Jane grinned. She didn't care if her partner noticed.

_You're out of the office all day tomorrow, right? I'll miss you._

The doctor's grin, though physically miles away from BPD, matched her friend's.

_I'll miss you, too. _

_Time to wrap up. Goodnight, Maur_, Jane typed.

The detective's eyes caught those of Barry Frost. He offered a knowing smile and rolled his dark brown eyes when her phone chimed one last time.

_Goodnight. x_

It wouldn't be easy sleeping alone, but Jane would undoubtedly go to sleep with a smile on her face.

oOo

At the second consecutive crime scene, Detective Rizzoli arrived in a horrid mood. Though the M.E. hadn't seen her friend at all the day before, she knew the cause: Jane was either not sleeping or continued to be plagued with nightmares.

Jane once again attempted to adjust her mood by teasing the doctor about her heels. The thought of Maura attempting to run in her tight skirt and inappropriately high heels made her chuckle. The doctor was good for Jane in so many ways, especially when her mood was sour and she hadn't slept.

"An ice pick?" Jane scratched her head.

Lost in the possibilities that left their DOA in this predicament, Jane hadn't caught whatever Maura had said to her.

"Hmm?" Jane refocused.

Maura raised a sculpted eyebrow in concern.

"Have you had any sleep?" she asked softly as not to allow her staff and the surrounding patrolmen to hear.

The detective shrugged her shoulders as if it wasn't important.

"A couple hours," her answer was nonchalant.

Stepping closer to her friend and gently touching her forearm, the doctor quieted her voice even more as she looked into Jane's tired eyes.

"Come over tonight," she whispered.

Jane nodded. Something about lying in bed with Maura made getting through the day seem possible. She offered the doctor a small, grateful smile as she saw Frost waving her over.

"See you back at the station."

Neither woman knew if it was a question the doctor was posing nor did they know how those words would repeat in both their minds as the case played out. Both women would return to Maura's simple statement—a promise, really. Both women would use it as their driving force to be in each other's presence again.

_To be continued…_


	11. To Get Me To You: Eleven

_Disclaimer: All recognizable _Rizzoli & Isles_ characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to Tess Gerritsen. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fanfiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended._

_Author's Note: The chapter I think you've all been waiting for. I hope it is worth all of the anticipation. Please note the change in rating. We're now in mature territory, folks. –dkc_

**To Get Me To You – Chapter Eleven**

Jane couldn't remember ever seeing Maura fidget.

Everything they had learned today about the case had been about Maura, too. It wasn't surprising that she would feel an immense amount of anxiety finding out as she had that she both had a half-brother and a mobster father. When Maura was fidgeting earlier on the bench down the street from the station, Jane wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around her. Instead she placed a gentle hand on her knee.

Now she had the chance to give that comfort, but instead she was giving a full-throated argument about what Maura did for a living being nothing like that of the killer she had met in the morgue. It wasn't helpful that Charles Hoyt had put the idea of her nature in her thoughts mere days before.

Jane stood and walked to the kitchen to call Frost. She had to protect Maura and they had to get to the bottom of where Paddy Doyle was getting his information. She trusted only two men with this.

"I told Frost and Korsak we'd meet them at the station," Jane came back into the room.

Maura continued to fidget by the fireplace.

"Maur..." she sighed.

Wrapping her long arms around the doctor, Jane pulled Maura close and kisses the crown of her head.

"We'll get through this," she hummed. "I know this is a lot to take in."

Feeling the moisture of Maura's tears on her arm, Jane refused to let go. She offered soothing words and the repeated reminder that she wasn't going anywhere.

"We better get back," Maura sniffled.

Pulling back and watching her friend wipe away shed tears, Jane smiled at how Maura made sure to wipe away mascara smudges.

"Maur? Look at me," the detective asked.

Looking into the shorter woman's eyes, Jane couldn't help but worry about her safety. Maura mattered too much.

"It's going to be okay," Jane was steadfast and forceful. "I mean it."

Nodding, Maura offered the slightest smile, dabbed her eyes once more and took Jane's hand in her own.

"Thank you."

A shared smile, one simple touch and they were on their way back to the precinct to figure out who it was that could be a threat to Maura's very life.

oOo

Jane never should have let Maura be alone. She was kicking herself. She was pissed at Korsak for telling her to leave Maura to do her job. Her anger was fueled by every irrational fear that came to her mind.

Where the hell was Maura?

When her cell phone rang and announced it was a blocked caller, her stomach was suddenly in her throat.

"Whatever you want I can get it," she said with desperation.

Jane's relief in Maura being on the other end of that line was indescribable. She offered no explanation to Frost and Korsak before sprinting out of the bullpen.

The usually law abiding detective ran every light, ignored every blaring horn to get to her apartment. She had never been so happy to see Maura when she threw open her front door.

"Maura!" she managed to say as she crossed her living room in several long strides

The doctor had been sitting on a kitchen stool staring at a burner phone that was placed on the counter. Jane's arms reached for her, pulling the seated woman against her chest. She realized too late that tears were streaming down her cheeks. Everything about this woman and her safety overwhelmed the detective. Finally pulling back and looking over the doctor, she couldn't see any visible damage.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Jane worriedly asked.

"No, _he_ didn't hurt me," Maura shook her head.

The doctor reached up to wipe Jane's tears, which seemed to annoy the detective despite how nice her touch felt.

"You were abducted! And I'm the one crying!" she animatedly spoke.

"I'm sorry I worried you," Maura stood up and reached for Jane's hand.

"That you're fine is all that matters. I was fucking terrified, Maur. I wouldn't know what to do without you," Jane hung her head with her confession.

"Jane," Maura spoke softly.

Placing a finger beneath Jane's chin and tilting it up, Maura pressed her lips to Jane's. The kiss was gentle and reassuring. Until the kiss was so rudely interrupted by Maura's growling stomach.

"I know that wasn't me," Jane chuckled.

"I didn't each lunch," Maura was embarrassed.

"Lunch?! It's 2 a.m."

Releasing the doctor, Jane walked around the kitchen counter and began looking for something for her friend to eat. She listened quietly to Maura retell her encounter with her biological father.

Maura ate cold cereal, something that on any other night would have seemed beyond unusual. Things seemed to have calmed down and Maura had, for the most part, kept her head about her. There were exceptions, though.

"Come on! You're the same ridiculously smart, amazing, goofy person you were before," Jane was once again trying to get Maura to see that she wasn't like Paddy Doyle.

The phone rang. They now knew Collin's killer. It could wait. Jane refused to leave Maura now, not now that she had her back.

They discussed the burner phone sitting on the counter and Jane suggested they allow Doyle to handle it.

"If he wants to protect you, maybe we should just let him handle it," she said without a hint of reluctance.

Despite Maura being adamantly against this, Jane wanted to do whatever was guaranteed to keep Maura safe. She was contemplating how far she would go for this woman when a knock came at the door.

The blinding fear of earlier returned when the knocking turned to pounding. Finally Frankie made his identity known, a relief to both Jane and Maura. Frankie acknowledged that it was the middle of the night, but for Jane that didn't wipe away the image of Maura bristling when the knocking began.

Maura and Jane relaxed considerably when Frankie came in and explained why he was desperate for help at this hour. As it turned out, it was the very distraction they needed.

oOo

They sat throwing peanuts at Frank, Sr. and Frankie. Sitting closer than was necessary, their arms remained linked and Jane's hand periodically touched Maura's wrist and forearm. They shared prolonged glances that spoke to how grateful they were to be together.

Maura was trying to stay in the moment, but her mind kept returning to what Vince Korsak had said at that morning's crime scene. He said you do whatever it takes to protect family. Yes, maybe that is what Paddy Doyle did, but it was how he knew the identity of Collin's murderer that bothered Maura. Jane had said she was taking the burner to the crime lab. Maura more than suspected that it was Jane who made that call. A man was dead because Jane chose to go against her nature to protect her best friend.

"What's going on in that big brain of yours?" Jane leaned over to whisper.

The doctor shook her head and blinked rapidly to avoid teary eyes from turning to actual crying. The thought that Jane had made the call to Paddy was overwhelming. Jane loved her.

Putting a hand at the small of Maura's back, Jane stood.

"Alright, Rizzoli & son, we're out of here. I refuse to be in the same clothes for 48 hours."

Maura smiled at Jane's ability to know exactly what she needed.

"Thanks for your help, Maura," Frankie all but bowed to the doctor's plumbing skill.

The two women said their goodbyes before getting into Jane's car and driving in the direction of Maura's house. Nothing important was said on the drive and nothing needed to be hashed out. The last week had taken it completely out of them.

Opening the front door, Maura kicked off her heels and took off the jacket she had been wearing for far too long. The ruffled shell beneath the jacket was a dark cranberry that brought out the strands of both gold and auburn in her hair. Jane couldn't help but watch her as she went to the kitchen and opened a bottle of wine.

"Don't tell me it's too early for wine." Maura caught Jane watching her.

They'd left work early and even with their stop to help with plumbing at the Dirty Robber, it was only four in the afternoon.

"Sweetie, after the night you had, you can have several bottles if you'd like," Jane smiled. "Can I have a shower?"

"Of course! There are fresh towels in the bathroom and your clothes are in the dresser in the guest room."

Smiling at the doctor, she walked down the hall and finally changed out of the clothes she had been wearing throughout the scariest nightmare of her life.

Losing Maura would be more than a nightmare. Jane feared it would bring her life to an end as well. What would she have to live for?

oOo

They had both showered and had a small dinner. Sitting on the couch, Maura was content to be with Jane and allowed her friend to obsessively flip through the channels.

"There's nothing on the damn TV," Jane whined.

Smiling, Maura attempted to keep from commenting on the way Jane could never settle on anything when given the control. The detective was not patient.

"Perhaps if you stayed on one channel for more than a millisecond you would know what was actually on," she deadpanned.

"Am I bothering you, Dr. Isles?" Jane smirked.

Unable to keep from smiling, Maura reached for the remote and shut the TV off. Jane's jaw dropped.

"Let's go upstairs," she suggested.

Quirking an eyebrow, Jane gawked as the doctor stood and walked away.

"You know it's barely 6, right?" Jane stood up and followed, surprised by the doctor locking up and turning off lights as she went.

When they entered Maura's bedroom, the raven-haired beauty was dumbstruck. She had no idea what, if anything, Maura had in mind. It was far too early to sleep.

"Maur?" she questioned the woman who had disappeared into the walk-in closet.

Whatever question Jane still had was eclipsed by new wonder when Maura exited the closet wearing a negligee.

"I didn't want to watch TV and I'm not ready to sleep. Can we lie down?" Maura was already pulling back the blankets on her usual side of the bed.

Jane took off her socks and followed suit. She would do whatever the doctor asked. Anything at all, she now knew.

"Is this okay?" Maura asked once they were comfortable, their bodies facing one another.

There wasn't a response worthy of how right this felt.

"I thought I'd lost you," Jane found herself saying.

"Oh, Jane."

Maura draped an arm over Jane's shoulder and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

When Jane's hand came to rest on Maura's hip, she felt the thin silk beneath her scarred palm and then became aware of something quite intimate. The lack of line or barrier anywhere on that hip could mean only one thing: Maura was bare underneath the silk. The exposed woman seemed to realize what Jane had discovered and their eyes locked.

"I wasn't expecting anything," Maura explained.

The lack of reply worried her until there was an upturn of the corner of Jane's mouth before she spoke.

"Maybe you should have."

The kiss Jane gave Maura was the manifestation of every emotion she had felt over the last twenty-four hours. She was passionate yet measured, relieved and contrarily concerned. Above all, she was sure. Her mind was without doubt.

As the kiss escalated into a flurry of kisses and gasps for breath, Jane's hand found the hem of the silk number Maura was wearing and slipped beneath. Her hand slid further up the bare thigh of the moaning owner until it rested where it had been previously on the outside of the silk. Quite aware of how close she was to Maura's mound, Jane's desire led her to the deliciously scented skin below each ear. When her tongue darted out for a taste of that delicate skin she felt the movement of Maura's hips. She used her knee to force open the other woman's thighs and was rewarded with a leg draped over her own hip.

Maura's hands tangled in raven locks while her mewling encouraged Jane further. Needy lips explored the bare collarbone jutting out from the silk neckline. Gentle sucking drove the doctor wild.

"Jane," she said in a tone unlike any her friend could remember hearing out of her mouth.

The cop knew precisely what to do as she pressed the woman's hip back until she was lying flat. Slipping another hand beneath silk she grasped the edge and slid it up, revealing glistening lips. A slight pelvic tilt allowed Jane to continue further, exposing a perfect navel and the bottoms of unbelievable breasts. Sitting up, Maura gave Jane the ability to remove the article completely.

"God, you're beautiful," Jane rasped.

She continued staring as Maura helped her out of her t-shirt. Perky breasts caused the doctor a sudden dryness of mouth that she attempted to fix by licking her lips.

Clearly aroused, Jane's nipples came to peaks as the doctor's fingers grazed them. Kneeling over Maura's legs, the dark-haired woman easily reached the sitting doctor's mouth to resume their scorching kiss.

When their breasts pressed together, Jane was reminded of the night she had felt this very sensation and how she had fallen apart before anything could go further. That wasn't going to happen tonight. She had fully committed to what she was about to do. Using the heels of her hands, she pushed the doctor back to her previous lying position. She bent down to kiss the doctor again and trailed kisses from jaw to ear.

"I want to touch you," she whispered in Maura's ear as her fingers traced the doctor's collarbone down across the sternum and between breasts.

Jane's request was one Maura knew how to remedy. She reached for the hand between her breasts and guided it south until she exhaled with the feeling of it cupping her sex.

"Jesus, holy fuck!" Jane's voice was hoarse; her finger gliding through dampened folds.

For her part, Maura couldn't speak. She was in a state of pleasure she had never achieved with this simplicity of touch. Her hips bucked into Jane's hand, a moan escaping past the cavern of Jane's mouth as it came to meet hers again and her hands tangled in unruly dark hair.

When their eyes met, Jane realized how easily she could be imprisoned by the look Maura was now giving. It was both pleading and perceptive. She knew Jane better than anyone. She was giving Jane permission to do whatever it was the detective was comfortable with.

Slipping a finger deeper into wetness, the detective sucked on one earlobe before whispering something Maura would not soon forget.

"I have never felt the need to feel you with me and around me like I do now."

An unwavering wrist flicked allowed the perfect angle for Jane to touch Maura's deepest wall. A subtle bend and she was touching the very spot that could take the woman over the edge. She returned her mouth to the lips she couldn't get enough of, using her tongue to mimic the pace of her probing digit. She added another long, delicate finger before increasing the thrusts inside of her best friend.

Maura's moans were making it impossible for her to maintain their kiss.

Curling her back further, Jane lowered her mouth to the pert nipples she could no longer deny. She let out a content moan when she took one into her mouth. She was gentle but determined. Sucking, tugging and grazing each nipple with her teeth, she could feel the doctor tightly coiling around her fingers simultaneously with the movements of her mouth.

"Oh, Jane," Maura whimpered.

The doctor palmed one of Jane's breasts, using her thumb to press firmly into the nipple. Her thumbnail caused a sensation that made Jane shiver.

"Will you?—" she found herself saying without any desire to spell it out.

Her own arousal propelled her fingers. Maura's open hand dragged across her abs and her thumb snuck beneath the elastic of Jane's shorts. Pulling the fabric down as she slipped lower, she sucked in a breath as her thumb pressed against Jane's quite swollen bundle of nerves. She knew it wouldn't take much when Jane's hand stilled and the woman's body nearly collapsed at that initial touch.

"Maura," she moaned.

The pace of her own hand became frenzied as the doctor's thumb circled her clit. She was plunging deeper and deeper, faster and faster.

Both women were crying out in pleasure, anticipating the ultimate satisfaction looming.

"Jesus Christ!" Jane cried out with the feeling of Maura's walls pulsing against her fingers.

She turned her wrist, curling her fingers as she did so. That was all it took. Maura's walls closed tight around Jane's hand as she reached climax. The doctor bit down on Jane's lip while pinching the woman's most sensitive point. Jane, too, was now tumbling over that mutual cliff.

"Maur…" she wailed.

And the detective collapsed. Her head on the doctor's ample chest, she removed her fingers and tangled them in the sheet beneath them. Once she caught her breath, she listened quietly to Maura's heartbeat. A dazzling smile overtook every feature of her face.

Unable to move, though content with the weight of Jane on top of her, Maura bent her head and placed a kiss to the top of her friend's head.

Maura, too, was smiling.

_To be continued…_


	12. To Get Me To You: Twelve

_Disclaimer: All recognizable _Rizzoli & Isles_ characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to Tess Gerritsen. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fanfiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended._

_Author's Note: Your reviews have kept me committed to this multi-chapter piece that I never imagined I could take this far. Thank you, dear readers. Onward and upward? Wishing you all the happiest holidays and the healthiest new year. –dkc_

**To Get Me To You – Chapter Twelve**

Jane was restless. Since she got in the car with her partner she had been fidgety and obsessing over her phone. She couldn't stand the waiting.

"If I'd known you were going to be like this I would have called and woke up Korsak instead," Detective Frost teased.

"Like what?" she pretended she had no idea what he was talking about.

She knew. Her mind was elsewhere and it was obvious. But could she be blamed? She had left a sleeping doctor, a very naked doctor, in the wee hours of the morning. She had left a note, yet remained worried how Maura would react.

"If I hadn't got this tip about O'Rourke's guys, I'd have been happy to close Collin's case for good, you know?" Frost explained.

"I know," Jane relaxed a little. "O'Rourke's guys are scum. If they're going to surface, we have to take our shot."

Just then Jane's phone buzzed. She tilted the screen out of Frost's view and stifled a grin.

_You're forgiven_, it read. _Just this once. :-)_

Maura's text spoke to many things, but the most important thing Jane found there was the lack of regret.

That made two of them.

oOo

Jane walked through Maura's door and wanted nothing more than to collapse. She and Frost had tracked down two of O'Rourke's associates, but realized quickly that the mob had deep connections and were tipped off. It had turned into an all-day stakeout for nothing.

"Maur?" Jane was taken aback.

The situation at hand was unavoidable, granted Jane had no idea what had brought it on. Every bowl, pan and spatula Maura owned was currently scattered around the kitchen and living room. The china was neatly stacked on chairs, the silverware in a round tub. What the hell had happened?

"Tell me you didn't decide to shine all of those utensils," Jane's eyes were huge as she also noticed the dozens of cookies on the back counter.

Finally taking a step further into the chaos, the detective approached the doctor and placed a hand on the doctor's shoulder.

"Maura, honey, what's going on?" she asked.

"I thought I had a Bundt pan. Doesn't everyone have a Bundt pan? No matter," she gestured toward the piles of cookies. "I decided cookies would do."

Jane had no idea what to say. She was still trying to decide if something had happened or if this was how Maura was responding to the recent turmoil in her life, their previous night's activities excluded (she hoped).

"I don't have a Bundt pan," she shrugged with a smile.

"Oh, I know. I looked. You really don't have anything useful for baking," Maura reached for the timer as it went off.

"You what?—" Jane's jaw dropped.

Taking the next batch of cookies out of the oven, placing them on cooling racks, Maura finally turned to Jane and it was obvious that she had been crying—really crying—at some point. Her eyes were unusually puffy.

"I'm going to ignore what you just said about my pans and ask my next question: What happened today? Is this about Paddy Doyle? Is this about…" she trailed off.

"My father is a mobster who has killed an untold number of people," Maura's tone was serious and sad. "This isn't a reality I had in any way prepared to cope with."

Jane was slightly relieved this had nothing to do with them, however selfishly. Her heart was breaking for Maura. She couldn't imagine finding out for the first time that she had a biological father out there much less one that had the rap sheet of Doyle.

"So you baked," Jane nodded. "That does not explain why every kitchen item you own is in the living room."

"I couldn't find a Bundt pan!" Maura broke into tears.

"Oh, sweetie," Jane wrapped her arms around the doctor who was noticeably shorter in bare feet.

She allowed Maura to cry for as long as she needed to. Jane offered soothing, comforting words and lightly rubbed the doctor's back. From time to time she pressed gentle kisses to the top of her head.

"Let's sit down and you can tell me all about it," she hummed against a flour-dusted cheek.

"The cookies," Maura mumbled.

"The batter will keep."

As they made their way into the living room, Jane saw for the first time that there were sheet pans and small appliances on Maura's couch. She raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. She simply led the doctor into the small study that Maura kept stocked with the most recent medical journals. She sat down in the overstuffed reading chair in the corner and pulled Maura into her lap. The doctor seemed to have calmed.

"I'm sorry, this can't be what you expected when you came here tonight," Maura shook her head in shame.

"Don't you worry about it," Jane moved strands of hair out of the woman's face. "It's not every day I end a long day with homemade cookies."

The gentle smile the detective offered Maura caused the doctor to smile for the first time since Jane arrived.

"I almost called your mom to ask if she had a Bundt pan I could borrow," Maura confessed.

Jane chuckled.

"I'm sure she does and she would have loved to have loaned you one. In fact, she might have disowned me and made you her daughter at that point. I've never been the baking type, if you can imagine," Jane joked.

"You?" Maura teased, the smile returning.

"Tell me what I can do to help," Jane became serious and showed her concern.

"I don't know. Like I said, I have no idea how to cope with something like this."

Continuing to hold Maura in her lap, tightly and without any intention of letting go, Jane pressed a kiss to the doctor's forehead.

"We'll figure it out. One day at a time, okay? And if you don't want to deal with it at all and pretend it didn't happen, we can do that, too," Jane said.

"This is the conversation I imagined having with you, my saying it, of course, after last night," Maura's eyes were deep green, enticing Jane.

"Really?" this made Jane a bit sad.

"For about 30 seconds," Maura admitted. "Until I saw your note."

This made Jane blush and Maura break into a brilliant smile.

"We'll get through this together, too, you know," Jane finally said.

"I know," Maura didn't hesitate.

"I'm hungry," Jane couldn't deny her stomach any longer; the last thing she ate was a granola bar in Frost's car with cold coffee nearly nine hours ago.

"Would you like a cookie?" Maura grinned.

"Only one?" Jane raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, hush!"

Swatting Jane and moving to stand up, Maura was stopped by Jane's firm grasp on her wrist. The detective looked into those deep green eyes before placing a kiss to cookie-flavored lips. The doctor was pleasantly surprised.

"Now for that cookie," Jane smirked.

oOo

When Friday finally arrived, every member of Homicide squad was happy to get the hell out of the precinct. For her part, Jane Rizzoli suggested they all have a beer at the Dirty Robber to celebrate the end of a hellish week. Her partner, former partner and kid brother were happy to join in. And so was Dr. Isles.

They had grabbed a booth in the back and were on their first round when Frankie sauntered in. In his uniform he knew he was a catch, but his choice of single women in the bar that night amounted to his sister, the chief M.E. and Murray's daughter behind the bar. He was deflated.

"Let me get you a beer," Frost chuckled as Frankie took his now empty seat next to Korsak, directly across from Jane and Maura who were sitting closer than usual.

Underneath the table the two women were holding hands, unbeknownst to the men in their company. It had been a long week for them, though what had transpired between them may never have happened had this week not come along and scared the hell out of them both. They hadn't spoken about Paddy Doyle since the baking incident and Jane was willing to give her best friend all the time she needed to process everything that had happened. When Maura was ready she knew Jane would listen.

Frost returned with a beer for Frankie and another glass of wine for the doctor who he had noticed was already out of the red wine she had ordered.

"Thank you, detective," Maura smiled at him.

Pulling a chair over to the table, Barry Frost noticed something that he was completely certain he hadn't seen before. From his new vantage point he could see Jane and Maura's hands under the table and they were indisputably linked.

It was then that the entire table saw the beautiful, gleaming smile that they each individually loved about their colleague and friend. None of them knew why Detective Frost was beaming; they simply smiled back and continued their conversation and drinks.

oOo

Somehow Jane and Maura made it out of Jane's cruiser, up the stairs and through her apartment door. Neither knew exactly how nor did they care. Their mouths were locked, their hands roaming eagerly over one another. Already this was as intimate as they had been with one another since the night they slept together.

"Shoes," Maura demanded, Jane was too tall when in her heeled boots with Maura flat-footed.

Jane unceremoniously kicked her boots toward the closet while removing Maura's jacket. She broke their kiss so she could take in the sight of the tight blue dress Maura was wearing. The blazer over top had been an impediment to Jane's eyes all day and she was glad to be rid of it. She tossed the jacket over the back of the couch. Her eyes took in every last curve of the doctor's body.

"I'll keep this in mind next time I'm picking a dress to impress you," Maura looked directly into Jane's eyes with confidence. "That wasn't my plan this morning."

Leaning in, Jane ran a slow, attentive hand from Maura's fingertips up her bare arm to the top of her shoulder and back down again.

"I was pretty convinced you had," Jane rasped. "Especially in the lab when I saw you for the first time this morning."

Jane's mouth was now on the doctor's neck, her fingers repeating on the other arm what she had just done. She pressed soft pecks along Maura's neck until she reached the spot below her ear where she knew she could find the doctor's concentrated scent and an erogenous zone that drove her friend wild.

"God," Maura moaned. "Is this my punishment?"

That moan was enough to undo Jane. Her teeth grazing the doctor's ear lobe gave way to sucking. She let the lobe go with a tug and whispered her answer.

"I believe I was the one punished all day. This is my reprieve."

Using the detective's bony hips to push her backward toward the wall separating the kitchen from the hallway, Maura asserted herself in a way that Jane was finding incredibly erotic.

"Reprieve or reward?" Maura spoke. "Would you like a reward?"

Before Jane could respond, the doctor's exacting hands went to work on the belt buckle and clasp of Jane's pants. The brunette could do nothing but groan. She was too turned on to formulate words.

"Jesus!" she gasped as Maura's hand slipped past not only her pants, but also her dampened panties.

Maura chuckled at how quickly she had Jane literally and figuratively in the palm of her hand.

Jane's pupils widened, her eyes dark with desire. Tilting her head down, she kissed Maura with ferocity. Her tongue immediately pressed forward and as deep as the other woman's gag reflex would allow. There was nothing elegant or composed about the kiss. It was wet, sloppy and heady. When neither woman could continue without a gulp of air, Maura took the distraction of breathing to flick a finger through welcoming folds.

The deep, guttural groan released from the deepest parts of Jane was all that the doctor needed to proceed. She was without an ounce of patience, something she didn't imagine the notoriously impatient detective would mind. Tangling a hand in Jane's mess of hair, she used her pelvis to balance herself while her other hand went immediately to work. Two fingers immediately slipped into the recesses of the panting brunette.

"Good God, Maur!" the groan eventually formed into words.

Resuming their kiss, this time with the benefit of Jane's hands on her neck to guide them, Maura continued thrusting into and exploring the wet depths that threatened to contract at any moment. She brought Jane to the edge, pulled back and then began again. Each time the kiss would stall and Jane would moan with frustration. As much as Maura was enjoying the brutal and delicious teasing, her legs were growing weak with every moment it continued. Hooking her fingers, knowing precisely where she needed to press, the doctor was compensated with the sudden tightening around her saturated fingers. She continued her thrusts as best she could, feeling each individual wave overtake the detective. Hearing Jane moan her name was musical. It was one of the greatest sounds she had ever heard.

Jane was now slumped against the wall, barely holding herself up. Maura, still inside Jane, was close to collapse as well. She reclaimed her hand, despite the detective's pleas for her to never stop. She leaned her shoulder into the wall next to Jane, looking at her as she brought her messy hand to her face. She began licking each digit while never taking her eyes off Jane. It was nearly unbearable for both women whose legs were hardly able to maintain standing.

"Fuck, Maur! We have to lie down or I'm going to end up in a heap on the floor," Jane's voice was hoarse with disbelief and desire.

Offering the detective a sly smile and a hand, Maura led the way to the bedroom.

This time neither woman would have to leave unexpectedly the next morning. It was finally Saturday.

_To be continued…_


End file.
